How we met again
by Typewriterman
Summary: After suffering a near fatal attack to save a young girl, Renji awakens to a plot that may bring him closer to Tatsuki, but also to a declaration of war on Sereitei *Post Aizen AU* *Renji x Tatsuki*
1. Unwelcome

_**The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya** _comes out on DVD, May 29

* * *

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house; reverberating off the walls of the nearly empty home. _Nearly _empty, because while nothing of the sort could be heard from the running shower in the guest bathroom, there was one high school student in the downstairs living room studying for the upcoming exams. 

Well, it would be more accurate to say _sleeping_…

"Huh?" She jerked her head up from lying on the oak table. Despite a page from the history textbook sticking to her face—with the aid of drool, of course—Emiko Arisawa stretched out her cramped limbs, before standing up from the comfortable leather couch. "Hmmm…" she groaned groggily, though still she meandered through the scattered books strewn about the floor towards the ringing door bell at the front. She easily navigated from room to room, taking a shortcut through the kitchen on her way to the foyer.

A family picture sitting on a table nearby looked back at her with smiles plastered on their faces; a father, a beautiful mother, a young teenaged son and obviously the daughter. Emiko's hair was a light brown however, unlike that of the raven haired preteen in the picture, and her mother definitely didn't have as big…_assets…_as the auburn haired woman either.

In fact, the portrait was taken on Setsuko's birthday, the daughter of Uryuu and Orihime Ishida; the owners of the house. Their happy smiles were immortalized with Emiko's help, taking the picture as one of her best friends squeezed the life out of the yellow lion plush doll. Of course, Kon was definitely not her present, but no one could say no to the birthday girl's wish.

Emiko brushed a hand through her shoulder length hair and smiled; she and her mom were quite lucky to have friends such as them, especially since her father up and left them a year ago.

'_But no matter', _Emiko would always tell herself when her thoughts wandered back to that, '_nothing could be better than having a mother who loves me, two of the best friends in the world, and practically a huge family—even if we're not blood related!' _

The bell rang with a bit more urgency now, reminding her of the person standing outside the door. "I got it!" Emiko projected her voice. With a smile, the young teenager opened the front door; a red haired man in dark sunglasses quickly shifted his gaze towards the flower bushes on the side. "Can I help you?" Emiko asked the strangely acting man. To be safe, she keeps the storm door locked and her hand ready to shut the door closed quickly.

The man cleared his throat, as if prepared to make some amazing speech or something. "Um, I'm probably wrong but…is there a Mrs. Shiranui here?" Emiko looked at him strangely, curious how the man knew that name. The man himself wore a trench coat and hat combination like some time traveling cowboy, and there was even a sheriff's badge on his left lapel.

"Or…or maybe a Mrs. Arisawa?"

"Uh, hold on please…" Emiko told the man. "Mom! Someone's here to see you!" She craned her head towards the staircase, only to have a short haired woman yelp in surprise behind her.

"Whoa there kid, I'm right here…" she chuckled softly towards the girl. Her hair was wet, and it was quite obvious that she had hastily put clothes on, wearing a mix of a sweater and short shorts as she pushed the door open. Her smile however disappeared and her brown eyes stared at the man silently; intensely.

"Mom?"

"Emiko, go upstairs…" the woman immediately replied. The teen only half complied; moving back towards the kitchen, but kept out of sight as she peeked back into the foyer. When she thought Emiko had left, Tatsuki turned an angry glare at the man. "I don't care how you found me…just leave…" she said with clenched teeth.

"Tatsuki, let me-"

"No, _you _listen to me…" she paused to breathe, biting down on her lower lip to keep from yelling back. Tatsuki ignored the small drop of blood running down her chin, as she tried to stare into the man's eyes as angrily as possible.

"…just…leave…"

The man's face disappeared when she slammed the door. Her angry façade finally broke down, and tears were pouring down her face.

She tried to breathe but had trouble, and simply slid down the door that she leaned heavily against. Emiko rushed to her side, never haven seen her mother so shaken up, much less cry.

She found herself sitting down next to her on the floor, and wrapped her arm around her mother's shoulders to support her head. Using her shirt, Emiko dabbed away the blood from the woman's chin, and held her mom tight.

'_Who was he?'_

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Like most things, I get inspiration for my fics from other peoples...hurray!!

Haha, but seriously...if you don't know it, or watched it yet, _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya _comes out on DVD on May 29th...youtube it, or whatever...I really want to start a petition to have a section added for this awesome series! C'mon, even _He is my Master _has a category!!

Back to the fic at hand, you may have noticed something wierd...if you haven't, it's ok, but this section is to explain to those who have. I began writing a story of the same name, (How I met your mother), only it was an Uryuu x Orihime fic. I decided to scrap this, and replaced it with this ficcy!

I think the couple is quite obvious to true **Bleach **fans, and I'd love to find out how to contact the FanFic (dot) net admins about making that category and such...If you're curious, PM me or subscribe to my forum! (just go to my profile)

_**...legalites...**_

-Inspired by the post Aizen AU created by _RadiantBeam_

-Emiko Arisawa and Setsuko Ishida are OCs created by _Typewriterman_

-Tite Kubo...Tite Kubo...Tite Kubo


	2. Back Home

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

* * *

Merely minutes had passed by, and Tatsuki was up from the floor; aware that her daughter may ask some questions. At least then, she wanted to look somewhat presentable when Emiko confronted her about the man, the sudden outburst of emotion…she quickly rushed to the bathroom. 

"Ohhh…" she groaned at the poor looking woman staring back at her. Eyes puffy, face red, hair mussed up, but most of all, the now scabby area where she bit down in the corner of her bottom lip. "That's just great…" she sighed as she touched the area. "I have a job interview today…and you just had to pick _today _of all days to show up….jackass …"  
"Hey mom…" a younger voice called from the hallway, "Mr. and Mrs. Ishida are back!"

--

Emiko was relieved to know her mother was ok…relatively speaking, of course. Personally, she would want to know who that man was, and what kind of person he was to have such a tough woman break down and cry—this was a black belt in several styles, and one who won a first place trophy with a fractured hand!

But no…she wouldn't want to that to her. Emiko decided instead, she'd rather wait for her mother to tell her. The doorknob behind her began to jiggle slightly, catching her attention. The lock of the front door clicked, and after some hesitation, swung open as an orange haired woman stumbled in. In her arms was a bundled up baby; sleeping soundly.

"Whoopsie, heheh…" she giggled from embarrassment. Orihime nearly ran towards the surprised teenager and wrapped a free arm around her in a half hug.

"Hey mom…" Emiko laughed out, "Mr. and Mrs. Ishida are back!" Almost taken off balance by the older woman's childish embrace, Emiko hugged her back as they girlishly giggled.

"Come on Emiko, don't call me that!" she waved her hand back and forth, "call me, 'Orihime', or 'Auntie Orihime'…better yet, just 'Auntie'!"

A strained groan sounded out from the front door, as a raven haired man tugged in several large luggage suitcases, while draped in several other bags as well. "So, where's my sweet lil' Setsuko?" She looked about expectantly, wondering why her young daughter wouldn't come to greet her.

"Knowing her, she's probably over at Aiko's…" Emiko explained. _Trying to get Kon again…_ she sighed but smiled slightly at the thought. Finally, after several trips in and out through the door, the raven haired man returned with a bottle in his hand, his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

From the corner of her eye, Emiko noticed a third adult approach from the hallway. She managed to clean up very well within the short time span, though the wound on her bottom lip was very prominent. "Hey there Orihime," she greeted the orange haired woman, "Ury—OWZA!!"

--

The four of them stood in the foyer for the next few seconds in complete silence after her abrupt yelp. It was only when a muffled snort from Tatsuki broke the awkwardness. Her face twitched; a tear ran down her cheek….and then she burst out into full laughter.

Uryuu's head dropped in shame has Tatsuki's cackling continued, only to sink lower when the young teen gasped upon looking at him.

It had taken a few more minutes since the single parent had burst into laughter, (so much that she crumpled onto the ground, grasping at her sore sides). But after recovering, the four were seated at the dining table, the sleeping infant resting in Orihime's gentle arms. "I know, isn't it cute?" the auburn woman chirped.

"Yeah uh….sure…" Tatsuki barely said from lack of breath. She took the time to adjust her moping hand carefully to cover her bottom lip. "Just….how the heck did it happen, Uryuu?" Orihime was busily poking her husband's orange cheek as he adjusted his glasses, and sighed from the recollection of memories flooding back.

"…-"

"-He tried to surprise me by getting a fake tan…" Orihime energetically interrupted.

"But…didn't you guys go to Puerto Rico for your vacation?" Tatsuki watched incredulously at the raven haired doctor; never knowing any kind of _wild _side coming from him since knowing him in high school…especially since she tries to ignore the stories Orihime tries to tell her, anyways.

"Like I said, 'cute'!" Orihime's smile shone wide on her face; just not as bright as Uryuu's fake skin tone was.

--

"Ururu-chan…it's your turn." The hat wearing blonde said softly.

"Oh, sorry…" walking in from another room, a dark blue haired young woman brought in a tray, on top were three cups full of hot tea around a single metal teapot. "Where did Mr. Tessai stop?"

"On Boardwalk…" the large glasses wearing man stated in his deep voice. The sliding noise of the front shop door did nothing to distract the three from their game, although Kisuke decided to take a sip of his ginseng. After debating whether to buy or not, the large bespectacled man decided to purchase the lot, and handed the pair of dice to the violet eyed woman.

"Hmmm…if only Jinta was here…we could've played some charades…" Uruhara mused with a sigh.

"But he has a family to raise, and a job as well…" Tessai said while reading the newest information card to his real estate empire.

"Yeah…and Yoruichi _loves _kids…" Uruhara sighed again.

"Keiichi's just like his dad..." she giggled despite haven to rub her head from memories of a painful babysitting job. Before rolling the dice, Ururu's eyes glanced up to the shadowy silhouette behind the sliding paper door disappear to the other room. "Why don't we have Mr. Abarai…?" Before she could finish, the blonde man raised a hand to stop her question.

"I don't think he's in the mood; let's just give him some rest." Kisuke said cryptically as always. "Sometimes a man just has to figure out what to do on his own…anything we try to do to help may be taken as pity…" A soft sniffle caused him to pause, and turn his glance on the large mustachioed man dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

"Mr. Uruhara…_sniff_…"

"Th-that's ok Tessai…" the blonde man smirked nervously, "I don't need a hug….seriously…" he chuckled while backing away from the large man, now immediately wishing that Jinta was around to provide as decoy.

* * *

**Review Response Corner**

(Oi, this is Hiyori…I'm not Typewriterman's mascot or anything, I'm just here to respond to some reviews…looks like he finally added a new chapter, instead of making up some new story. I think he's just trying to seem cooler by writing a whole bunch of them, without updating at all! Anyways, if you've been bored enough to notice, some of his stories have been deleted, while a lot more—well, three—have been put on hiatus. He better have, those stories had no plot whatsoever!!)

_Ireally like it, 'cuz it's really interesting and I really want to know what happens next, and who that man is. -dragonlayer_

(That woman's such a drama queen…I've done all my own stunts you know!!)

_Oh dear. It looks like Tatsuki is in quite the drama, ne? I wonder who Emiko's father was... if that was her father, and I get the distinct feeling that it was.  
Update soon! -RadiantBeam_

(Some guy appears, and that's drama? Typical human…)

_Hey cool! I kinda had the feeling it was going to be him! It's so cool! I hope you get to continue!  
Update soon!! -MitsukaiMizuno _

(Bah…he made fun of my _**Supa **_Walker when I showed it to him…he doesn't know the definition…)


	3. Love and Lions

**Before we start:** Seems that people liked how review responses went last update, so let's see how Ms. Ururu deals with y'all...

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

* * *

"_Oh the irony…" _Tatsuki groaned to herself. She had known of Emiko's role in the school play for a few months already, but it was only now that the premise of its story hit home. 

The story was set in World War II, about a young woman who waited for her husband to return from the front. However, she came across an old acquaintance—her first crush—in the second act, the soldier-husband returns years later, to a family he didn't remember having.

"Did you think this is how I wanted us to meet again!?" Emiko dramatically cried out upon the stage. Or so it would it was supposed to, if it weren't for the noisy heckler three seats down. He couldn't have been older than a high school senior, or at most freshman college.

"_Excuse me, but could you keep it down? My daughter's up there, ok_?" Tatsuki whispered to him. He didn't seem to hear, as he continued to snicker and laugh. "_Hey!"_

"_Shhh…_" said the boy back, smirking with his index finger mockingly pressed against his lips. "_I'm trying to watch the play here, lady…" _

"_Shut up or I'll make you shut up…_" Tatsuki clenched a fist towards the irritating boy, and tried to make her most intimidating face. His eyes widened at her reaction, but instead of cowering, he gasped with awe.

"No way!"

"_Shhhh!_" someone in the crowd hissed.

"_No way…_" he whispered this time, and scooted over to the seat next to her _"You're Tatsuki Arisawa, right?" _

"_Uh…yeah…_" She answered, taken back by his sudden change in attitude.

"_I'm a **huge**_ _Vale-tudo fan! I got to tell you, that way you did that toss in the championship round, WITH that fractured hand…awesome stuff!" _His eyes were bulging with excitement as he described the scene, and his smile must have shrunk his actual age by ten years.

"_Uh, thanks…but if you don't mind, I'd really like to watch my daughter on stage, ok?" _

"_You're kidding? You have a kid?" _He turned his glance towards the performance now; luckily it was during a slight lull in the story. "Your daughter must have some amazing genes—it's completely mind boggling to think of a match between you two, haha…"

"_Yeah…I guess…_" Tatsuki played along. He had ceased being annoying, but it would still be nice to be able to pay attention to Emiko's full performance.

"_And whoever the dad is must have been a very lucky guy_." Melancholy fell over her, before she glanced towards the young man sitting next to him again. "_I never knew my parents…but my friends, heh, they sure can make me forget about that. Still, I had a slight falling out with my girlfriend a while back, and it's just nerve wracking to see another couple's falling out, you know._"

"_No, no…You don't understand, uh…_"

"_I can tell though…your friends must be very supportive of you, or you wouldn't have survived on your own at all!_" He noticed the woman staring at him incredulously, and stuttered to rephrase what he said. "_Uh, heheh…what I mean is…your online profile never made mention of where you lived. So that means that you probably live with family…_or a very close friend…"

--

"Uwaaah!" squealed the young girl, who pressed her face hard against the glass shop window. Despite being out of character for the moment, it was something unavoidable, especially if it had anything lion related.

"Geez, Setsuko…" the teenager sighed, "this is like the third time we've stopped! We're going to be _so _late for Emi's show!"

"It's ok…she's still performing tomorrow, right?" The young blue haired girl's voice was excited. Muffled from being pressed against the glass, yes, but excited; and nothing could have sent shivers up the teen's spine more than that (creepy) tone of voice.

"She's changed so much…since I've been gone…" Aiko Kurosaki groaned. It was hard enough to keep Kon and her _own _siblings from causing a ruckus—especially since they always found a way outside the house—but the small girl had just become hectic within the span of a year. "Say, Setsuko, what's up with this personality three-sixty of yours?"

"Hmmm? Well it's necessary, don't you know? I'm a big sister now…" the small girl mumbled whilst window shopping.

"WHAT? I never heard anything about that!"

"So it seems _you're _still useless…."

_She's gotten so blunt…_ Aiko sighed even more. "So, what else happened around here while I've been gone?"

"Other than that you're the cause of me losing my Kon-bear-"

'_Kon Bear!?' _Aiko definitely wanted to remember this for future blackmailing purposes, perhaps if there was a boy she liked…?

"-Hmph…it's been too quiet. No Hollows, no weird stuff…just the usual RPG's and dating games…"

_Dating Games!?! _If she were drinking something, this would be the time Aiko would've sprayed it out of her nose; if eating, she would've definitely choked and died from the lodged food in her wind pipe.

"Oh! Mom and Dad just got back yesterday," she chirped, "and I haven't…seen…" her voice trailed off, leaving the teenager confused even more about yet another change in personality. Of course, after looking at the reflection in the shop window, she could see why.

"Why do _I_ have to get the boring job…" the woman whined. She adjusted her large sunglasses and scratched a light itch with her long fingernails. "I just hope that woman doesn't try anything with my dear Ping…"

* * *

**Review Response Corner**

(Hey guys, Kia Sherman here! Oh wait, I guess if you never read "A warrior's last wish", you may not know who I am! Anyways, to keep things short, I play the part of Ururu in the post Aizen AUs of several of Typewriterman's fics. Now, let's see if I can answer some of your reviews…)

_Great! You updated! I like this story...I've always imagined how he would be as a father. Rather clumsy I suppose...but funny...Si Hiyori is NOT your pet...right..._

_Update soon -MitsukaiMizuno _

(Well I know that he has a brother—off the set I mean, so he's a really cool uncle. Just wait till the omake!)

_Ah, Tessai. (snicker)_

_So the Ishidas are back, huh? And Setsuko's already after Kon. Poor Kon._

_Update soon! -RadiantBeam _

(Yeah, Rodney? Such a funny guy. And yeah, I'm pretty surprised with Setsuko's character this time around…)

_trying desprihtly to see the picture_

_failing miserably_

_seems like it has a good plot to it  
more soon._

_Hiyori? -2ndsly _

(Are you talking about on Typewriterman's profile? To be honest, I'm really jealous of what Tatsuki can pull off!)

_Interesting chapter and so, but... I don't think you should let Hiyori talk in your space very much... she's taking your spotlight. Anyway... Just Update! -dragonlayer _

(Well it seems like I took his spot this time, haha)

_I believe I already know who the father is, but I won't say anything of course. - Bronx Shogun _

(Well if anyone read RadiantBeam's fic, they would know…still, until I read the script myself, I actually believed what Yachiru told me…so at least know that Komamura isn't the dad…)


	4. Some old fashioned advice

**Before we begin:** I don't know when it happened, but finally, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a category! We won! On another note, are cats naturally curious?

_**...legalities...**_

I don't make any money by making these fanfictions, but I _do _spend money on buying the manga!

* * *

How could he call himself a man? Well, besides the fact that he was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a children's playground….no, how could he call himself a man, when it came to his actions? He was a coward, a liar… 

Renji couldn't even stand looking at his own reflection in the bathroom when he woke up that morning. It was ironic to think after all these years, the so-called 'traitor' to Soul Society, and the ryoka she loved, would prove to be the most courageous people he had ever known. They would go to the ends of the earth, and even confront the Captain General to save their children, and defy the taboos latched to their relationship.

He thought he had found his own love, nearly more than a decade and a half ago. She was strong, and didn't even need protection despite the hordes of Hollow and Arrancar that had attacked so many years ago. She made his heart flutter, without even being in college then.

They weren't all 'lovey dovey' like Orihime and Uryuu, and Renji believed it was deeper than Rukia and Ichigo's relationship. With her, they knew how to push each other—not each other's buttons—but to their limits. Sparring, fighting, dealing and receiving blow and injury to each other, what relationship was deeper than an empathetic bond like that?

Despite his own criticisms of the orange haired Shinigami representative, Renji found out too late that he had fallen for a human, himself. It was especially troubling to him when Rukia was banished from Sereitei, facing expulsion rather than losing her child; or even divulging the idiot's name.

It scared him. It was a different situation because she was with child, and there was literally no precedent to that…but should a male Shinigami ever had loved a human--especially if he were a vice-captain--and_ that _was found out, strict and immediate action would be taken; action that would take place whether or not he divulged the woman's name.

"Oh, geez Tatsuki…" the red haired man groaned out loud, "Why'd you have to love me!?"

"Woman problems, I assume?" Renji shifted quickly on the bench, irked that someone was eavesdropping on his emotional turmoil. Ready to growl his response, he glanced towards the other side of the bench, only to be disarmed by the curious eyes of the older man sitting there.

The man's bushy white moustache just barely covered the waiting smile on his wrinkled face, and his surprisingly youthful amber eyes peeked out from under his brown fedora. "Oh, sorry, my Japanese is a bit rusty," he chuckled a bit, "did I say something wrong?"

"No…it's pretty good." Renji had to admit, and looked forward again to the laughing kids on the swing set ahead. "You're quite fluent."

"Ah., that's good to hear…" the man laughed heartily. Letting one hand let go of the cane sitting arbitrarily between his legs, he reached into the inside pocket of his brown suit and after taking out a pair of glasses, looked forward towards the swinging kids and sighed happily. "Love hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…it does…" Renji sighed, although glumly.

"Looking at those kids…" the older man began, "…reminds me so much of my grandchild." He paused and glanced towards Renji next to him, before continuing his story. "You see, I had a bit of a qualm with my son, and it's been about a year or two since I've seen them. Beautiful family, really; his wife is a _real _looker, heheh."

Renji squirmed a bit as the man continued to talk, but opted to be polite and continue listening. "He used to live in Karakura, before moving away to a smaller town close by. Still, I wish I had the courage to just go and visit them, you know?"

"Well I tried to talk with Tatsu…to '_her'_, and that only pissed her off." He sighed in response.

"Oh…well, did you try explaining anything?"

"What's there to explain?" Renji added, "I left her, and when I went to see her again…that look on her face…it was just painful for her to see me. She was even biting down on her lips so hard..."

"That pain is love, my friend." The old man said casually. "It hurt to see you, because it reminded her how happy she was when you were together. Just by looking at you, I can tell it would have been a terrible burden for you to leave her…must have been an incredible reason, too."

"There's no excuse for a man to just leave." Renji said. "…especially a…a _father_!" The man sat there quietly for a moment, creating an almost unbearable silence between them.

The old man looked back towards Renji, a small smirk on his face despite the topic at hand, "So man up." He said. "Man up, sonny…" He groaned from standing up from the bench, using the cane to help. "Speaking of which, I'm off to see a doctor about my back, heheh…" He slowly made his way towards the sidewalk, walking at a casual pace rather than out of physical handicap.

"Hey old man…" Renji called after him, "The name's Renji Abarai." The man, startled by his new title, turned towards him with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Then please, call me Kazuhiro…I have a feeling we'll see each other again, ne?" The man tipped his hat towards Renji, and began walking down the sidewalk again, leaving him to his own thoughts.

---

Outside a small flower shop, a large and burly man leaned against a telephone pole; the wood bending in because of some huge unseen mass. The man eagerly cracked his large knuckles at the sight of movement inside the store, but did not make any moves of his own, as if waiting for orders.

"Ainiki…" he mumbled under his breath, "…I'll wait for Ainiki's signal…" he licked his lips at the thought of it, but held fast to keep his excitement at bay. "…I'll wait for Ainiki's signal…" he mumbled again, "…_then_ I can kill them all…"

* * *

**Review Response Corner:**

(Hey there everyone, if you can't tell right away, Yoruichi Shihouin here! Apparently I'm supposed to be the permanent review responder from now on, but we'll have to see about that, hmmm?)

_Komamura-Taicho the Dad?_

_(Tries to imagine it)_

_Nope...can't... - Bronx Shogun _

(Whether its true or not, Emiko's going to grow up to be a foxy woman, haha)

_Horray, the Kurosaki's are back! And Setsuko is acting weird...Wait, who's the mysterious woman? Ping? Do I sense some action here?..._

_When are the parents seeing each other again? And when is Emiko going to meet him? Does somebody from the group know that he's her father? I would love to see Ichigo's reaction (OMG! You did Tatsuki? You're a father?!!) lol_

_Anyways...update soon! -MitsukaiMizuno _

(And to think that Ichigo's the same one who got so embarrassed whenever I transformed in front of him. And now he has three kids? Go figure…) 

_very interesting so far... more updates please -karenkate-kitty _

(I'll definitely see to it that he gets to doing that…we kitties gotta stick together, haha)

_HEAD STRAINING!  
TO UNDERSTAND!_

_Cunfusiong to me.  
Am I missing something or are you writing this befor the story  
befor it is finnished?!?!!_

_interesting though -2ndsly _

(What's wrong hon? Try PMing him, and I'm sure Typewriteman will try to fix up that confusion problem, ok?)

_Che... just update.(I don't actually know what to say!) -dragonlayer _

(It looks like you came up with something to say, didn't you?)

_Tatsuki and Renji? I love this pairing. Update soon with more drama. -darkangel1910 _

(My favorite pair would have to be me and a nice cool glass of milk…)

_Heh. I don't know whether to be laughing from the antics of Setsuko in this chapter or worried by the appearance of one of the infamous Fearsome Four (I believe that's what you called them, right?). I'll just do both._

_Update soon! –RadiantBeam _

(Fearsome four? Does it have to do with something with a Silver Surfer?)


	5. Some contemporary advice

**Before we start:** Thank you for reading, but the story isn't done yet...sorry...

* * *

The sun beamed down heavily on the young Shinigami who, basking gleefully on the grassy hill, inhaled the fresh air of the forest around him. The laughter of children sang into his ears, amplified by having his eyes shut, and focusing on everything around. Smells of flora, grass and trees filtered into his nose, and the warmth upon his eyelids showed only red and blues of eagerness to open his eyes to the beauty that surrounded him. 

A soft thumping approached him, just before a heavy blow struck his gut. His eyes shot open immediately, and groaned as all the air in his lungs was pushed out. "Geez, Louise!!" he tried to laugh, but the eighty pound weight shifted about on top of him. "Trying to sneak up on me, huh?" He ruffled the small boy's hair, and soon turned the tables on his surprise attacker.

"Hey…" the small boy lamented from the tickle attack, "Quit it! Hahaha! No….fair!" despite his sheer advantage, the man paused in his assault when laughter from behind him caught his attention. Taking advantage of the lull, the small boy broke out of the man's grasp, and rushed over to the woman standing nearby. "Mom!" he laughed, "Help me!"

The boy ran up to the woman, waving a large bright yellow flower. Once she happily took it, he ran behind her and grasped the cotton apron from behind, and stuck his tongue out. "Hiro, would you cut it out?" the woman jokingly scolded the man. She smiled at his smile, and squealed from embarrassment when he walked over to her and kissed her lips lightly.

"So…what's for lunch?" She rolled her eyes at his question, and simply walked away from him, the boy holding her hand. "…" Before he could follow her, a single black butterfly fluttered past his view; its message clearly sent to him.

"Honey? Didn't you want to eat?" The woman called from afar.

"I'll be right there, Mari…just start without me!" he called back, and waved and smiled toward the two until they returned to the wooden domicile at the bottom of the hill. Perhaps he had stayed too long amongst the humans, but it appeared that Sereitei had finally caught up to him. Brushing off the thistles and blades of grass off of his brown hand stitched tunic, he took the time to look back and forth; making sure no one was watching him.

When he was satisfied, he turned towards the forest and disappeared among the trees, until he approached the small clearing and the two darkly dressed men waiting for him. He was frankly surprised to see the white haoris dressed upon them, but he mainly focused on the blonde man stoically standing under a ray of light that burst through the canopy of trees above.

"Your mission is over. I'm pulling you out." The blonde man said calmly. "Central forty-six has been passing legislation for the Squad Companies to move. It's too dangerous for you to be here now."

"Captain, I urge you with the utmost most respect…" the man began, "but surely how can the Quincy be considered dangerous? They developed their powers _only _to protect themselves." But his plea had no effect with the blonde man; not even an immediate reaction.

"I'm trying to tell you this as a friend, not as a Captain." He finally said, "Their abilities are unlike the Shinigami; they destroy the Hollows entirely, upsetting the complete balance of both worlds. That's why Central wants to put a stop to them."

"Kisuke, please! They've only begun to develop their power! If I were just to help them for a bit longer-"

"-Kazuhiro! I'm ordering you to return with us!" The blonde man said strongly now. Stunned at the sudden call of rank, the young man had no choice but to obey. He sighed and dropped his head in despair, and swallowed his pride at the sight of his captain.

A scream echoed through the woods, quickly followed by an explosion. "Mari!!" he ran back into the forest as fast as the gigai let him; his heart racing at breakneck speed. Isshin noticed that his friend did not chase him.

Instead, the blonde had a melancholic look on his face as he watched his subordinate run vainly back to the village.

--

"Mari!? Taro!?" Kazuhiro screamed desperately. Fire and smoke reigned supreme on his sight and other senses, making it nigh impossible to find his family. "Mari!? Taro!?" Licks of flame constantly brushed against his skin, and he breathed heavily from the intense heat around him.

The dead bodies—some of whom were close friends—were sliced up, and were lying all around the blood soaked gravel and dirt streets. No matter how many times he tripped or fell over them however, he hurriedly jumped back to his feet. Terrified screams in the distance and the roar of fire filled the now blackening sky; it had miraculously begun to rain.

Thousands of droplets all seemed to fall from the sky at once, extinguishing the flames with hisses. He had run about aimlessly, trying to reach his home through the wreckage and rubble of the small village. "Mari!? Tar…o…" he dropped to his knees, his tears now indistinguishable from the rain. The singed remains of a yellow flower lay flat on the ground, its stem sticking out from under a wooden board from where his house would be.

Despite the approach of footsteps splashing through the dirty puddles, his breathing was haggard and didn't change, his nostrils flared. "Isshin, please open a gate." The blonde man sighed at the sight, bowing his head out of respect. Without thinking, he took off his white haori and wrapped his subordinate in it.

"…Sure thing, Kisuke..."

* * *

"Renji…" the red haired man jerked in surprise off the bench, and tried his best to stabilize his breathing. 

"Geez, warn a guy, will ya!?" he growled towards the blonde man sitting to his right. Aware of the strange stares from people all around, Renji ignored the urge to respond and returned to his seat on the bench. "What do you want?"

"…I didn't know you were making friends. Does he have a sister?" the candy shop keeper curiously opened his paper fan, adding more mystique to the shadow cast over his eyes by his green and white striped bucket hat.

"I don't even know how to respond to that…" Renji admitted, and exhaled over the old man's simple advice. _'Man up…' _his voice resonated in his thoughts. He would've invited him back to explain a bit more, but he seemed to have vanished from view. "What do you think I should do?"

Folding back his fan, Urahara sat silently for a moment, before slowly craning his head towards him to respond. "Have you tired talking to her?" Renji stared at him incredulously, but said nothing, thinking that there could be more to his advice. Some moments passed between the two men; neither batting an eye through their staring.

"I trie-"

"-No…" the blonde man interrupted, "I meant _talking _to her…" Renji's eyes started looking to the ground, definitely lost in thought. "C'mon, I have some business to attend to." Holding onto his bucket hat, the wooden clack of Uruhara's sandals sang out against the grainy sand that spilled onto the paved sidewalks from the playground nearby. "Renji…?"

"What?" he growled with irritation.

"I said I have some _business_ to attend to..." He responded in a cheery tone. Although, his wide grin only made his intentions seem more conspicuous.

"So?"

"There are some kids that need candy, and _you're_ going to help deliver!" It seemed however, that the wonderful announcement didn't change Renji's opinion on the matter. "…or maybe you forget that you're not paying your rent?"

"…"

"Hmmm…?"

"…let's go…"

* * *

**Review Response Corner** (Hosted by Yoruichi) 

(At least _some _people didn't fall for that...think about it; there's nothing wrong with the chapter at all! The story is still in progress, so of _course_ it isn't finished yet... Anyways, let's get to some review responding, shall we?)

_Hehe, aren't you the smartass... I like you. Anyway, great chapter, my number one on my'top four' list of your chapters. It really is great, there's love. I like love, it's... refreshing. Anyway... update soon. -dragonlayer _

(Well make sure you don't go_ too_ far with liking me, or you might end up like Typewriterman…)

(**Typewriterman: **What the hell!? That was a cheap shot!!)

_I'm glad you updated. I hadn't realised that no one knew that Renji and Tatsuki had a thing. Him returning will be a big shock to everyone involved. Update soon. -darkangel1910 _

(Well I for one had an inkling about those two, but we'll have to see if anyone else had a feeling…)

_Haha silver surfer (wipes tear)  
Anyway...I love this story. Is that old man Ichigo's grandfather? It sounded like him. And what is up with the short chapters? Not cool dude..._

_Update soon!1 -MitsukaiMizuno _

(Well don't shorter chapters mean more frequent updates? Try to imagine how long it would take if the chapters were longer…)

_ok_

_i understand it beter now._

_though it must be interseting to try to write the sequal to another authors work which is'nt yet finished._

_we need the old man to be around more.  
gotta love old men ans their "wisdom"._

_more please -2ndsly _

(That's definitely good to hear…I mean read…and why do you make so many spaces, I wonder?)

_Dum dum dum... sorry._

_Nice to see Renji's getting his courage back, though I wonder if it'll last when he has to see Tatsuki._

_Update soon! -RadiantBeam _

(I wonder too…)

_Take it easy on your back old dude. Haha! - Bronx Shogun _

(Seems that he didn't drink enough milk in his youth…)


	6. Meet the Candyman

The hum of the car was soft from inside the well air conditioned interior, which successfully kept out the humidity of the Japanese summer. Of course, there were still a few weeks left of school activities—and more importantly, testing—before students could be let out to run rampant on holiday.

One such activity was the school play, of which Emiko was born to play the lead of…no matter how uncomfortable it made Tatsuki feel.

"Are you sure I did well, mom?" She asked for the forth time since the show had ended, "I was so nervous…"

The light turned red on their approach to the intersection, giving Tatsuki some time to conjure an answer. By no means, did she_ not_ know what to say, but she really needed to say something without squealing like a fangirl. Seriously, her daughter is a _star _now!

"No…" she said shrewdly, aware of the teen's initial reaction from the n-word. "You…did…GREAT!!" Ok…she lost the battle for control…might as well go all the way…

"Really!?" Emiko squealed in surprise.

"Yeah!" Tatsuki responded similarly. "Now if only Setsuko and Aiko saw you…knowing them, they probably were sidetracked by the new toy store…"

"They wouldn't do that mom…I know them…"

--

"To think I'd catch you two in front of a toy store?" the woman slid her large dark sunglasses down to hang off her blouse. "You brats are making this too easy…" she raised her hand as if to strike, but a sudden white glow stopped her in her tracks.

"No…we didn't…" Setsuko furrowed her brows as her glowing bow and arrow burned with spiritual energy, aimed right between the older woman's eyes. "We felt you following us from the house…" she said seriously.

"_We did?" _Aiko whispered to the younger girl, also taken in by her bluff. The young Quincy noticed the older woman's eyes glance towards Aiko with a new look of understanding, as if she heard Aiko's oblivious whisper. And she fired off a bolt, forcing the woman to jump across the street.

"Suzume…let's go." A young man had appeared next to their assaulter, as Setsuko prepared another arrow. "Alright…" the woman said to him, and glanced towards the girls. She refrained from saying anything, but simply grinned before disappearing, leaving only the strange young man behind.

He grinned despite being targeted, causing hairs to stand on Aiko's neck. "It's nice to see you again, Shan…" before he too, disappeared.

"Shan?" A car honked followed by two trailing headlights that eventually settled on the girls. It didn't take long for the minivan to stop in front of them and let the window lower to show a disappointed look on Tatsuki's face.

"And where have you two been?" she said sternly, already opening the side door automatically with a press of a button. "I can't believe you would ditch Emiko's performance…for a toy store?"

"I'm sorry Aunt Arisawa, it was my fault…" Setsuko said with believable emotion. "We promise to make it for tomorrow's performance, right Aiko?"

"…who are you, and how long has my mom been teaching you these things?"

--

Day had finally broken, though to the mixed feeling of relief and anguish of the Vice Captain. He had thought that the bucket-hat, Urahara was kidding about the candy delivery…but it appeared that he wasn't at all. In fact, here he was, standing behind a counter, still waiting for the small boy in front of him to make some sort of decision. The woman standing behind the boy only smiled towards him, but did nothing to try to hurry the boy up.

"Uh…uh…" The uniform he was wearing felt ridiculous on him; basically an underling version of Urahara's usual wear. "Um….uh…" and the boy's indecisive manner was gradually beginning to irk him.

"Why don't you try the peachy rings? They're delicious!" Urahara seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, handing a bag to the little boy.

"Is that what you want honey?" The mother asked, smiling at the boy's happy nod. "Alright, how much will that be?"

It was a bit easier for Ururu at the store, since she all she had to do was stand towards the front and greet potential customers. And towards the afternoon, some teenaged boys and young men would enter, in hopes of catching her attention. Towards the back, Mr. Tessai would be handling the large boxes and replenishing supplies as demands were high throughout the day.

All the while Urahara himself would roam about the story, chatting up the customers and helping them choose through recommendations like he did with the little boy. Renji though, would take the full brunt of the work by being stuck behind the register, while the other employee, who was _supposed _to be the cashier, was still due to come to work since that morning.

What came to Urahara to set up a toy/candy shop, Renji could never figure out. The bell rang yet again, signaling him to prepare for more customers. "Thank you _so _much for buying it!! I love it, I love it, I love it!!!"

_Geez…another toy lover, huh? _"Renji? Is that you?" A bespectacled man with skin as red as his hair was talking to him, as if he knew him personally. To think, this nerd would….would…

"Wow…Ishida?" He squinted his eyes to get a better look, all the while Uryuu sighed about his appearance.

"Just charge it, ok?" Uryuu gently brought a small dark blue haired girl towards the counter, and allowed her to set it next to the register. "How much?"

"Don't worry…I won't ask…" Renji assured the tall oompa loompa, and subtly gave them a discount for the large Lion plushy. "So, you still with Orihime?" The front bell rang again, giving way to a raven haired teen. "Aiko?"

"Setsuko, hurry up before we miss Emi's show _again_—hey there, Mr. Ishida…"

"Don't worry about it, Aiko, I've got it covered." Uryuu chuckled, and carefully took the bagged Lion and placed it in his daughter's waiting grasp.

"What's taking so long, Aiko? You two shouldn't dawdle again!" The bell rang several times as a few customers left, and then allowed a tall raven haired woman to enter the shop. "I doubt my daughter will be able to forgive you girls if you miss her show a second time—Uryuu?" She was surprised to see him inside the store, but at least now she only had to focus on Aiko.

"Hey Uryuu, you forgot your receipt." Renji pushed through the crowd with the strip of paper in hand and froze just behind the reddish man. "Tatsuki…?"

"…Renji?" They all stood, just staring at each other; even Urahara came out of nowhere, but kept silent between the two of them. "You…son of a-" She stepped toward the baffled man, her eyebrows furrowed, and then immediately smacked him. Without saying a word, Tatsuki stormed out of the store, closely trailed by Aiko, Uryuu and Setsuko.

Renji didn't even hiss as he placed a tentative hand on his cheek, now a loud and screaming red color from the slight swelling.

"Well…at least she didn't punch you…and you're _kind _of talking again!"

"…Mr. Kisuke…" Ururu sighed.

* * *

(Alright guys, Renji here...yeah, thanks for your support this story so far...uh...) 

_Urahara is up to something...I'm very uneasy. -darkangel1910 _

(No kidding…geez….)

_I sure can't get enough of the review comment section! lol_

_Ok, I would ask what the first part of the story was, but I'm sure you'll explain sooner or later so...  
hahah Renji needs to pay rent! Of course, nothing in life is free, but I'm sure Urahara has an ulterior motive.  
Hey, don't forget your other stories!! And WHY haven't you made a C2 for Haruhi Suzumiya? Dude?_

_Update soon! -MitsukaiMizuno _

(I think it was supposed to be some kind of flashback, and no, I don't have to pay rent…well that's what that damn Urahara keeps telling me…)

_Very interesting story so far - I'm looking forward to what happens next. (And I like this pairing... Ha.)_

_Tatsuki's going to kick his when he tries to talk, isn't she? Poor Renji - he never wins._

_Hope you update soon! -IluvsBakura _

(It looks like you got your answer…no excuse me while I reapply my ice pack)

_Damn, what a brutal way to kill loved ones. - Bronx Shogun _

(Yeah, I honestly don't know what to say, myself)

_Ok! Update! -dragonlayer _

(...uh…sure thing…)


	7. Arrival

Update already, RadiantBeam! hahaha...no, seriously...I'm on the edge of my seat over here!!

* * *

When there was only five minutes before the play started Aiko, Tatsuki, Uryuu and Setsuko had just managed to reach the school theatre. Predictably, most of the seats would have been taken by now, but the house was practically full at this point. 

"Geez, Setsuko's addiction strikes again!" the raven haired teenager complained.

"It doesn't look like your lusts for sweets have gone away, either…" the small blue haired girl poked back, both figuratively _and _literally.

"Hey! Quit that!"

"Sweetie, stop poking Aiko…" Uryuu sighed tiredly. Maneuvering through the crowd of people in the aisles, the four finally found seats, although they were at the far side of the stage. "It seems that this show is really popular, Tatsuki…"

"Yeah…" she murmured, obviously distracted.

"Say, Setsuko, wasn't your hair reddish last time?"

"…I tried giving myself highlights…"

Aiko snorted at the thought, immediately clasping her hands over her mouth. "Yeah….it definitely worked out, huh?"

"…Tatsuki?" Uryuu tried again, this time softly shaking her arm. He quickly checked over to his left to make sure that the girls weren't listening, and then turned back toward the woman sitting on his right "If it's about Renji-"

"Uryuu…" she groaned, "…please…I'd rather not, right now…tonight, I just want to pay attention to _my_ daughter's performance, and-"

"You know, Rukia did the same thing to Ichigo…it would've brought Sereitei to intervene if she didn't leave him…" he tried to whisper as best he could, wary of the raven haired teen still arguing with his daughter. Tatsuki on the other hand kept silent; perhaps ignoring him could more or less tell him to shut up.

"Unlike Rukia, Renji's a ranked Shinigami officer, and a male no less…no matter how spiritually aware you are, _you're_ still a human…and if it wasn't for what he did, who knows what would've happened to Emiko?"

Her eyebrows furrowed intensely at him, but despite how tightly she held her fist, there was just no way could she hit the bespectacled man. The lights began to dim, and several of the audience members hooted at the aspect of the show finally starting. Tatsuki sighed, and shifted in her seat, and looked ahead to the stage where a single spotlight followed a girl dressed as a housewife.

Onstage, the housewife read a letter out loud, one about her husband dying in action, and she lamented and anguished over the news.

"…like I said, Uryuu…I don't want to talk about this right now…"

--

The large man kept watch of the flower shop still, leaning against the wooden telephone pole as if he could do nothing else in life. He ignored the strange stares of passer bys, and not worrying about being marked by anyone inside the shop either; at most, some old man who was apparently familiar with the targets had gone in and out, bringing groceries inside the shop.

Without flinching, he was also instantly aware of the two who appeared next to him; the one curly haired woman who had a knack for complaining, and the dark haired young man who leaned against his arm.

"So, how's the shop, Mikio?" he casually asked the larger man. The woman smiled at his laid back tone, but took more caution at how the townsfolk glanced at their larger compatriot.

"Take your arm off, or I _break_ it off…" the large man growled.

"Alright, I can take a hint, big guy…" he responded to the threat, although seemed far from intimidated. "…but you know, Kazuhiro wanted me to tell you…that you can kill them all…"

Intrigued, he glanced down for the first time, excited by the prospect but wary of the sudden news, as well as the source of it. "Ainiki…never gave me the signal…" he growled again, and returned to his duty of watching the flower shop.

"Ping's right, Mikio…" the woman spoke up. The large man glanced down to his right this time; to someone he knew was loyal to the leader. "…go…" was all she added. Not being able to hold it in any longer, Mikio smiled, and pushed off the wooden pole behind him. A pained creak sounded out, as the wood strained against a surprising weight, and his hand was indented into it.

"Let's go…" the young man glanced to Suzume, and both phased away.

"I finally…get to fight….him…" Mikio continued to mumble to himself as he crossed the street, and his eyes darkened to an almost inhuman hue.

"-Where do you think you're going, dear sir…?" The man's amber eyes peered up from the brim of his dark brown fedora, inquisitive at the larger man's actions. To say that their difference in stature was to compare a baby's arm and a tree trunk was an understatement, but it was the larger man's eyes that were gripped in fear.

After glancing toward the empty street corner from across the shop, the old man's scowl quickly changed to a smirk, even showing some of his pearl white teeth. "No matter, I had some business to attend to here, anyway." Lightly pushing the glass door in, he politely held it open for a customer holding onto a large plant to open it herself.

"Good evening, madam…"

"Good evening…" she said back. The store bell rang a second time as the burlier man walked in as well, alerting a raven haired woman to rush to the front.

"Welcome to the shop…" Rukia paused when she saw the two men enter, and a crash sang out as she dropped the potted plant from her hands.

"Rukia, what's wrong?" an orange haired man rushed from the back as well, but immediately jumped in front of the woman when he saw the same two men. "You have a lot of nerve to come here after what Uryuu told me…What the hell are you _bastards_ doing here?" Growling, the large man stared aggressively at the Shinigami before him, wanting nothing but to let loose while innocents were still in the store as well. The older man however, simply chuckled as he took off his fedora with one hand and brushed through his graying hair with the other.

"Good evening, Lady Kuchiki…I mean, _Mrs_. Kurosaki…haha…" he nodded his head towards her, and then turned toward the defensively posed man in front of her. "…_Doctor_ Kurosaki…I've been having some problems with my _back_ recently…care to help?"

* * *

**Review Response Corner**

(All right, guys and girls, your favorite kitty cat is back! Aren't you curious how I sound like in English? Trust me...it's definitely worth the wait. Anyways, let's get to your wonderful reviews...)

(Well it looks like Typewriterman's finally updated, huh? Thanks for your continued support)

_Ok, when are Tatsuki and Renji finally going to talk? I mean, geez, everytime she sees him it's a fight, though I don't blame her...  
Hey, if Renji is her father, than does that mean that Emiko can become a shinigami? I mean, Ichigo did it...hm..._

Update soon! -**MitsukaiMizuno**

(Chapter 12. If I'm right, you owe me a saucer of milk Deal?)

_looks like typewriterman may be feeling a need to look into  
the Shan era once more.  
woinder what will come of it. -**2ndsly** _

(I haven't read it yet, but I think I can still follow the story. But I don't think it would hurt, huh?) 

_Jesus Renji, say something to her! You ain't gonna win Tatsuki back if you don't you wimp! Haha! - **Bronx**** Shogun **_

(Confidence is something that catches a girl's attention. Unless he's a jerk who left her. I wonder how the poor boy will get her to listen…)

_I like this chapter. I had been curious as to what Urahara was planning. You have him so much in character. With Urahara, you can never tell if the outcome was carefully planned or a strange coincidence. Either way, he always gets the job done. Great job with that._

Renji is making progress. It would have been worse if she had ignored him. I think she still feels something for him. If she didn't she would not be reacting this strongly to his presence.

Great story. I hope you update soon with another well written chapter. **-_darkangel1910_**

(He's a strange one, alright. Otherwise I would have never help him leave Sereitei…but that's a story for another time…)

_Ouchie. Looks like Tatsuki's still holding a grudge or two. Good luck to Renji._

Update soon!

(Yes, I know I haven't updated Over And Over Again... I'm working on it...) -**RadiantBeam**

(I think I know what Typewriterman would say as a response. Still, you have your own life, unlike a certain amateur author who's always cooped up in his room…)

(**Typewriterman: **Geez, again with the cheap shot!!)


	8. Doctor's Office

**...Arrival, part 2...**

"…care to help?" the amber eyed man crooned, leaning some weight into his walking cane. He flashed a toothy smile, as if waiting to hear the punch line of some perverse joke. 

The large bearded man behind him was not so emotive; his eyes slimmed at the eyes of the shop owners, unflinching at the intensity of the tension of the situation. Ichigo took a quick glance at the behemoth, and shuttered at the sudden feeling of déjà vu, as if they had met before. Of course, it was most likely not under the best of situations.

"Or maybe I should've made an appointment with your cute secretary, then?" All of his muscles tensed at the voice… _It came from behind me!? _Ichigo's mind screamed in alarm, and turned around in disbelief.

He spotted the fair raven haired woman behind the counter uninjured, although just as shocked as he was. The old man, who had just a second ago been in front of him…was somehow leaning on the cashier counter, moping with a look of boredom on his aged face. Even from where he stood, Ichigo could hear his wife's controlled breaths, as if she were trying to hide from a vicious tiger on the hunt.

"Excuse me…" Ichigo jumped slightly, and turned again to face an older woman carrying a pot of flowers. "Excuse me, Dr. Kurosaki…" she said sweetly. He stepped to the side, and watched wordlessly as the woman continued ahead to the counter, completely oblivious to the situation unfolding.

"I think you should take that, Mrs. Kurosaki…" the old man nonchalantly suggested, now leaning both his elbows, back towards the counter. Rukia's violet eyes glanced back to her husband, and shuddered just barely when he simply sent her a nod. She took a deep breath, and looked toward the older woman and smiled warmly; casually leading them towards the cash register on the other side.

"Astounding acting ability, wouldn't you say?" The man observed.

"Get out of our store…" Ichigo finally growled, now given a miniscule amount of ease from Rukia's slight distance from the three of them.

The man's amber eyes shot back towards him, serious unlike before. However, this quickly changed as a yawn broke his intimidating stare, and he now stared with a wily interest. "Look, I know we've had our _little _squabbles in the past…"

"You Ataenushi freaks kidnapping my daughter is '_little'_!?"

"Psh…can't believe he called himself that…I bet he was really jealous of me…" the man mumbled, before clearing his throat and glancing again toward Ichigo. "That wasn't my idea…that was Hisashi …my _brother_. Personally, I thought it was just plain stupid…you and your friends were the ones who killed _Aizen _for goodness sakes!"

"What?" Ichigo was caught off guard by the comment, not knowing any way to respond.

"You know, _really _creepy looking old guy, and _really _melodramatic as well…you killed him with your bankai…?" The man unflinchingly questioned.

"He said something about using me…so am I still a target? Or did you just think Uryuu would've been easier to grab?" His question was answered with a soft snort, as the old man tried to hold in his laughter.

"My brother had a different objective than mine…_he _wanted to wage a suicidal war against Sereitei, while _I _on the other hand, have a different target…" He placed his hat onto the counter, and with a simple gesture of his fingers, directed the large bearded man to find a seat. "One who had had done harm to you in recent history, if I'm not mistaken…"

"And that would be…"

"Tsk, tsk…" the suited man waved a finger in disapproval, "that's not what I'm here to talk about, doctor. You see, I _really_ need this pain in my back taken care of."

"Like I give a crap about what's messing up with your health…" Ichigo growled again, only to be answered by another bout of soft laughter as well.

"This…_pain_ isn't a 'what', but a 'who'…it was a metaphor of sorts…" Seeing that the orange haired doctor was still looking uninterested, the suited man raised his cane into view, and grabbing hold of both the end and side, slid it open to reveal a blade. "Raidentetsuya's buddy is in town…he can feel its presence, even as I speak…"

_That Zanpaktou's name…_

"You know, when a kidnapper fails at their job, it doesn't take long for authorities to track them down. The really skilled ones who manage to elude capture are smart enough to lay low…but of course, only the really _troubled _ones often go back to finish it…and I have no doubt in my mind that Ping could be a sure candidate…"

"What's the catch, old man?" Ichigo quickly said.

"What? Can't you see that this is just an old man's attempt at apologizing for what rash decision his brother made?" He said with a hurt look on his face, but quickly gave up when Ichigo wouldn't fall for it. He chuckled at this, but it wasn't out of mockery. "I simply give you this opportunity, so you could say, _overlook_ any pleas from help from above, and finally stop from being a Sereitei dog like you are…"

They stared each other down now, neither making a move or a sound. That is, until Kazuhiro's amber eyes quickly glanced down at the single yellow flower sitting in a vase of water. He glanced back toward Ichigo, and wordlessly took his leave, but stopped short of pushing open the door, ringing the bell just slightly.

"Send Renji my regards…" then he left.

"I'll be back to kill you, Vizard…" Ichigo's attention switched toward the large man, "…be sure of that…" was all he growled, before he too, left to the sound of the bell chime.

"Wait…" Ichigo breathed out. "…Renji?"

--

_I can't believe I'm doing this…_ Renji groaned to himself. In front of him stood a two story school building, decorated thoroughly in celebration of the school play.

The red haired Vice Captain was surely in denial—how could a Shinigami officer be so terrified of such a little thing…? No…it was probably the anxiety getting to him…

He took a deep breath in and out and slowly made his way to the open doorway, confident that he could take on this…challenge…but then cowardly sauntered back to his spot in the courtyard.

_Geez…my knees are shaking…_ he growled at his sudden ineptitude and cowardice. _What's to be afraid of? Urahara said she'd be here, along with my d-…my dau-"_

"You ok, man?"

Renji's heart jumped from surprise, and with an astounding show of ability, he blasted midair and fell backwards to the ground at least five feet from where he previously stood. He looked to his would be attacker, and sighed out of embarrassment when only a teenager and a slightly older woman stared at his strange behavior.

"Oh, sorry about that…did I scare you that bad?" he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head; although the brunette woman wore large sunglasses, Renji swore he could see her eyes roll out of boredom. "Are you here to see the show?"

"Uh…yeah…" he mumbled, and looked around for any other witnesses to his embarrassment.

"Well, you shouldn't just stand around you know, the show's already started!" The teen smiled and escorted the woman up the steps toward the entrance; ushering Renji after them with his free hand. Reluctantly, he followed them into the building.

"You ever been here before?" the teen asked casually, his eyes roaming up and down the trophy cases as they walked down the hallway.

"N…no…but I know someone who, uh…does…" _Get a grip, Renji…she's your daug-_

"What's your name? I'd hate to piss off a Yakuza by calling him an old man, hahah…" the teen said with a surprising calm.

_He better not be talking about my tattoos…_ "It's Renji…" he attempted to growl, as intimidating the teen could provide a way to gain some sort of false confidence at this point.

"You know, I hear Emiko Arisawa is a _really _good lead. I wonder where she got her acting ability; her mom…or her dad…"Renji involuntarily sighed at the 'D' word, but at least it was soft enough for the other two not to hear.

They had finally reached the auditorium doors, which were closed as the show was on already. Still, between looking at the timed schedule poster and their watches, it was only five more minutes before intermission. Although there was no usher at the door the three of them decided to stay outside, as to not cause any distraction to the actors and audience already inside.

"By the way," the teen said to break the silence, "I'm Ping, and this is Suzume…" he introduced the two of them.

* * *

**Some words from the-**

Yosh!!! Kon here! That hottie, Yoruichi wanted me to tell you guys that the review responses will be taking a short reprieve for now! Anyways, instead, there'll be a new section down here for future chapters, called "**OC Trivia Corner**", mainly explaining about the many OCs of this fanfic universe, and how each story is related to each other!!

Ok, see you guys then!!!


	9. Waiting

**Typewriterman: **...go away...

_...Goes back to playing Xbox 360..._

* * *

Renji sifted through the crowd of people, hoping to find some way out of it. It came out of nowhere, this explosion of people that burst through the auditorium doors without so much as a warning. The couple he ran into in the front of the school seemed to have managed to melt into the crowd, giving him for the first time in a while to sigh in relief. 

_The guy was a nut…always talking about his ex, or whatever…_ the red haired man shuffled through the turbulent seas of play-watchers, as he somehow managed to secure a cup of punch and a white macadamia nut cookie for himself. From the chatter he'd overhead from those around, the play was so far a marvelous success.

"…that Emiko Arisawa was actually tutored by Rukia Kurosaki, you know, the wife of Doctor Kurosaki?"

"Oh yes, I've heard a lot about her…I used to go to Karakura high school, myself…"

_So many positive reviews…_ Renji somehow managed a smile. He sat on the first free bench he could find, which happened to be behind the same group that he heard sifting through the crowd. He took a small bite of the cookie in his hand, savoring the sweet taste before washing it down with the sweet red punch.

"…yes, but I've heard that her mother just got through a turbulent divorce a year ago…turns out her husband for ten years wasn't even Emiko's father…!"

"It's a shame that such a girl can have such a distressing life at home…"

Before he knew it, the cookie in Renji's hand had exploded into bits and pieces that flew off every which way and garnered more attention than he wanted. "Oh, uh…excuse me…" he tried to play off nervously, and cautiously slipped back into the crowd, making sure to dust himself off of any remaining crumbs.

_I think I'll just grab a seat…_

--

"They're talking about you again…" he told Tatsuki, looking about with a level of annoying that she never thought possible before. "Why don't you go kick some asses, get them to shut up once and for all? You know, like Hiya!! Or, Waah-ho!!"

_Of all the times…_ Tatsuki groaned. Taking another look back and forth, and up and down the hallways, Tatsuki grinned just slightly when confidence sprang that no one was around to see her do her deed. Reaching into her purse, she took out the small tin container and opened the top with a practiced hand. Without ceremony, she poured the brown liquid contents of the tin into the red plastic cup filled with punch, and when she felt the cup was full enough, she carefully hid the tin after screwing its top back tightly again.

A sour taste that slipped down her throat did nothing to make the transparent man in front of her disappear, and resigned to try it for a second time—no dice….

"Since when have you been drinking!?" the apparition gasped, covering his gaping mouth with his hand in an openly effeminate way.

"Since when did you care?" She sighed back softly; more than aware of how crazy she would look, speaking to no one in front of her. She took a second swig. "It's just this much, ok?"

"Hmph…" the transparent man huffed, and tried to ignore the raven haired woman in front of him. Unsuccessfully, of course. "Now Tatsuki, does anyone else know ab-"

"Hey there Tatsuki…" The bespectacled orange Quincy called from down the hallway, a red plastic cup in each hand. "They're calling for everyone to get back to their seats—do I know you?" He squinted slightly at the spirit following shortly behind the woman.

"…I promised I won't say anything…and I'm doing that!" The spirit suddenly blurted out, causing more sighing from her. "Right, Ms. Tatsuki!?"

"…I can't wait until someone finally decides to takes you away…"

--

The eldest Kurosaki daughter had had enough of this. For the past week, the small blue haired girl had been acting strange…well, stranger than usual, anyways.

The bespectacled young girl sifted through the crowds without a problem, using her size to her advantage. _What…is she doing? _Aiko asked herself, as she trailed the girl, weaving in and out of the now dispersing crowd. "Setsuko, get back here! The play's going to start back up again, soon!"

Rather than heed the older girl's warning, Setsuko continued around, as if searching for something. Albeit a strange thing to teach her daughter, Orihime had in fact instructed Setsuko in the use of her nose when else in doubt or something seemed wrong.

Indeed, something didn't smell right, or more specifically, some_one _didn't smell right…it was that woman who had trailed them around the other night. There was a strange reiatsu that came off her, not one that was small, but that was being restrained or covered up somehow.

Whichever the case, there was a second smell floating about similar to the woman's although it was unfamiliar at best. If she had to guess, it might belong to that one man who appeared and disappeared with that brunette woman.

"Say Aiko, who's 'Shan'?" Setsuko promptly stopped sniffing around and looked back at the taller girl.

"What?"

"That guy called you Shan the other day…" the taller girl shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and Aiko's hesitance to answer said enough. "…whatever…let's get back to our seats." Setsuko said emotionlessly. She turned around and began to follow the crowd towards the open auditorium doors.

After some hesitation, Aiko followed after the small girl as well, although she bumped into the smaller girl on her way. "Uh, Setsuko?" she exclaimed, nearly losing her balance when stumbling backwards. The blue haired girl only stood there, completely still in the middle of the hallway. "Setsuko?"

Setsuko turned around, her eyes focused and eyebrows furrowed. "What happened?" She sniffed the air again, and darted her head back and forth where she stood. "What happened, Setsuko?"

"…It's Hollow bait…" she breathed out.

"What?"

Setsuko looked at the older girl straight in her eyes, not blinking once. "…someone's released Hollow bait…"

--

"Show time in five minutes, everyone!" yelled the stage manager.

While the stage crew scurried about, setting up the props and fixing the lights for the second half, the actors prepped themselves and each other for the last performance of the year. It had been a anxious few months since she had auditioned for the role of Haruhi, the protagonist housewife, and a nerve wracking week as she performed two times already.

So far, nothing had gone wrong. Emiko just hoped it would stay that way.

* * *

**Kon: **Alright, Kon's back baby!! Last chapter I said there'd be a new after-chapter bonus, so without further ado, here's the... 

**-- OC Trivia Corner**!!! -- (part 1)

**Setsuko Ishida** is the daughter of Orihime and Uryuu Ishida. A prodigy at the age 11, she attends the local high school with Aiko Kurosaki and Emiko Arisawa. Also a Quincy, she had been unaware of what happened to the Hollows that she fought until confronted by Aiko. She shares her mother's strange taste buds, her eccentric sense of smell and her father's need for glasses and mostly disciplined nature. Unless there's a lion involved, that is.

**Height: **139 cm**  
**

**Likes: **lions, reading, spending time with her parents, spending time with friends (secretly). pan fried noodles and borscht

**Dislikes: **being made fun of because of her small stature

**Birthday: **June 22

**Favorite Shows: **anything with lions

--

**Kon: **...that Setsuko nee-chan scares me...and she doesn't even look like her mom at all! Too much like that annoying Uryuu, if you ask me...


	10. One minute until Showtime

**Typewriterman: **Just in case you don't realize it, the first part of this chapter is a flashback...

* * *

The Shinigami Research Institute was an alien existence to any who weren't familiar with it. The scientific experiments, the technological advances, and research for anti-Hollow activities were all concentrated there. At the helm of it all was a brilliant scientist, and very influential amongst the Thirteen Court Companies.

In fact, out of all the captains at the time, he would be the most infamous…but, that would be for another story…

His blond hair and stoic look inspired many of the scientists, as well as the Shinigami who served under him in the Twelfth Division. He created so much, invented, innovated and pushed the boundaries of what was possible and what had never been conceived by minds before. But Kisuke Urahara was no mere mind…he was a genius…

"Captain Urahara…" the young Shinigami excitedly rushed through the laboratory. His white garment flowed behind him, as the papers in his hand fluttered from the sheer reckless speed at which he traveled. "…Captain!"

The blond captain looked up from his own paperwork, messily strewn about the top of his table. He smiled as the man slowed to a halt outside his office, and respectfully stood up and approached the now panting man. "C-captain…Ura…Urahara…" he exhaled tiredly.

"Haha, take some breaths there…" He patted the man's back, "I don't want you heaving all over the instruments, you know?"

"O…okay…" he wheezed again, and took a few calming breaths to steady his nerve. He gulped, somehow never getting over the excitement of his news. "…it worked!"

--

In a separate wing, of which research and experiments were made, the two men entered without ceremony and walked straight to the center of the room. No one else other than them was present, and the room itself was dark; shady, save for a single spotlight that shone on a table in the middle. Upon the operation table lay two things. The first, which was the most obvious, was the body. To be more specific though, it was a Gigai; a faux body used by Shinigami. The second object was quite the opposite. It was harder to notice, as it was only the size of a gumball. In fact, that was what it resembled, as it sat there on the red velvet cushion next to the body.

"I was inspired by your work with gigais, Captain Urahara…" the man walked proudly towards the illuminated table. "Actually, that was what I based most of my research off of…"

"And I see that flattery is quite large in your arsenal…" the white robed man smirked at his subordinate.

"…Uh…" he chuckled nervously, "…anyways, it also led me to begin experimenting with Mod Souls as well…"

Urahara stood silent, not wanting to interrupt the explanation. "Normally, we would input Mod Souls into the corpses of humans, as to fight against Hollows, correct?" The captain nodded silently in agreement. "Well, rather than that, why can't we input them into specialized Gigais? Rather than always separating from a corpse, the gigai and Mod Soul would be infused, creating an entirely new being. Think about it; as specialized anti-Hollow units, they would allow the quick mobilization whenever there was a need for action. They can act as a quick response or even as support until Shinigami squads arrive…and _that_ way-"

"-it would aid the Quincys as well?" Urahara sighed. "Kazuhiro…why must we always have this conversation…?"

"…but Captain!"

"Kazuhiro…just…drop it…" Kazuhiro brushed his hand through his brown hair, and watched as the blond man exited the room. As the door closed behind him, the mood of the room turned even darker.

"…Captain…you…you just _don't_ understand…" he said out loud, obviously exasperated. Kazuhiro walked over towards the table, and glanced down at the body covered by the single white cloth. "…but you do, don't you…?" He brushed a hand through the lifeless body's hair, and took the small green pill in between his index finger and thumb. "…Suzume…?"

* * *

She and Ping watched the crowd of people walk about the school hallways. They were all happy, talking about the play, their family, and their lives. They had no idea of the dangers that had befallen their world countless many times already, nor the plot set into motion now. 

Suzume sighed out of boredom and took a sip of the punch in her hand. It was fruity, although it wasn't the best she'd had. It was good enough. "So, what'd you think of Vice-Captain Abarai?" the young man sitting next to her asked casually. He took another bite of his chocolate bar, before leaning backwards in the metal fold out chair. "Hmmmm?"

"What _about_ him?" she immediately snapped, not at all amused by Ping's tone of voice that time. "You're not _jealous_, are you?" She queried, although didn't really care at this point.

"Hah…no…I just find it funny about his situation…" he scoffed, "…Shinigamis falling in love with humans…what bullshit…"

"…really…?" She mumbled back, sarcastic as ever. He took no notice however, as he crumpled up the Styrofoam cup in his hand. "…say, Ping…" Suzume glanced to the redheaded Renji through the crowd, "…this has nothing to do with Kazuhiro's plans, do they? I mean, we're supposed to be keeping an eye on the Ishidas, not-"

"What are you talking about?" His hand gently caressed her face; his eyes and smile warm toward her direction, "…so who are _they _supposed to be?" he tenderly turned her face to the right, and directed her view to the four at the table; two girls and two adults nearby them.

"…yeah, but _she's _there too…" Suzume scowled. _That damn _Kurosaki_ brat…_

"Are _you _jealous?" he mused with a delighted chuckle. "…you don't have to worry about that…" He fished his hand through his pocket, revealing a small pale tablet. Both knew what it was, and both equally knew that he would be willing to break the Hollow bait. With a single crack, the tablet disintegrated into dust, and Ping's face grew into a menacing grin. "…let's just thin the crowd a bit…it'll make our job a bit easier, don't you think…?"

--

"Just a few minutes until the show starts up again…" an audience member explained to her complaining child.

Renji's heart jumped, and Goosebumps grazed his skin. He felt unwell suddenly, as if the waning crowd had brushed feathers all over his body. His cell phone vibrated, without any tone of a call whatsoever. Maybe it wasn't what he thought it was…that it was someone else's cell phone, who had just happened to have set theirs on silent mode. The only problem was that the seats to either side of him were empty. He casually flipped open the device, and clicked the message open with the center button.

It was an assignment.

_Here…? _He asked himself breathlessly. The appearance of a Hollow was scheduled close to him, somewhere within the school no less! His eyes darted back and forth, to and fro for the exact coordinates of the emergence. As calmly as he could, he stood up and joined the crowd as they filtered back into the auditorium, pushing against it as he headed back to the entrance.

Within his jean pockets, he handled the plastic gikongan instrument until he readily placed a pill into his palms. During a break in the flow of people, he threw the green ball into his mouth; the sudden shock of energy shot him out of his body.

"Find a seat near the exit…" he commanded his replacement soul. Slouching slightly, his body threw a subtle thumb up and disappeared into the crowd, while he himself threw open his cell phone once again. Adrenaline was driving him now at this point. _One minute until Showtime…_

* * *

**Kon: **Ok, now's time for... 

**-- OC Trivia Corner**!!! -- (part 2)

**Chin Ogiue** is the Vice Captain of the thirteenth squad. A family friend of Jushiro Ukitake, he was only an Academy student when the events involving Aizen took place. When news reached Soul Society about Rukia Kuchiki's missing child, Chin volunteered on behalf of his Captain, and went to the real world where he first came across the Ataenushi no Ouju, the "Death Givers". He is more than willing to help the Kurosakis, and has involuntarily become an unofficial employee of Urahara Shoten.

His Zanpakuto's name is Tamotsu, and its first release disintegrates much of his Zanpakuto's length into particles of sand, leaving only a short red hilted scimitar (closest to a Persian Shamshir), which allows Chin to alter his opponents' perception of time.

**Height: **178 cm**  
**

**Likes: **Deep dish anchovy pizzas and deep fried sobe, drinking sake in the moonlight

**Dislikes: **Violent intent against innocent people, the Ataenushi, Ping

**Birthday: **September 10

**Favorite Movie Genres: **Spy flicks, Old fashioned mystery stories.**  
**

--

**Kon: **Chin's pretty cool, and is pretty creative with his pranks. Like that time we tricked Urahara into putting on a hat filled with whipped cream...classic!


	11. Preshow Entertainment

**Typewriterman: **So, welcome fellow fanfic-ers, to this oh-so-special omake! Joining me are a few familiar people, like Ping…

**Ping: **Hey there!

**Typewriterman: …**and Chin.

**Chin: **Yo!

**Typewriterman: **The reasoning behind a "special" omake is the simple fact that, I haven't done so in a bit…I've done end of chapter specials, but those aren't the same. Anyways, I doubt I'll be ending this story anytime soon, so I'll just take a wee break and get started again with my other stories that I've ignored for too long now. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my self MST of my first Bleach fanfic, "_Tide"._

**Chin: **Wait, hold up…what's an MST!?

**Ping: **…just check out for that…now, onto the MST!!

* * *

Tide (act 1)

Standing on the rooftops, a lone figure looked down into the American metropolis.

**Chin: **Batman?

**Ping: **Shhhh

He had watched how humanity had built and destroyed the city over the years, today being no exception at all.

**Typewriterman: **You'd think that a city would learn not to build where it was constantly destroyed…

The sounds of jackhammers, construction vehicles, and yells and orders emanated from several places all at once. Some just blocks away, while others were spaced across the entirety of the city itself. Keeping close watch as per his orders, the figure instinctively predicted the chime of the large clock.

Ding…Ding…Ding…

**Chin: **Oh Ping, your Hot Pockets are ready!

…_Three o'clock…_

He said to himself. He couldn't help but to smile. "Wait…_three_!?" His eyes bulged at the thought of it, and quickly made his move. Jumping from one rooftop to another, the black robed figure traveled so fast, it seemed like he was teleporting rather than running and jumping. That's of course, if anyone could see him in the first place…

**Ping: **I've always wondered exactly what it meant for your eyes to just bulge out…it just sounds like it hurts!

**Typewriterman: **It's just a turn of phrase…

**Ping: **How do you 'turn a phrase'?

**Typewriterman: **…? Sh-shut up!

_I'm going to be late…I'm going to be late! _He chanted to himself as he ran. Realizing as the park was now in view; the figure took a sharp left, and then dropped to the lower buildings without hesitation. He landed as swiftly as a cat, without so much as to roll to disperse the bone shattering forces that would push up against one's feet. Instead, he skipped along the gravelly rooftop, and then took a seat onto the overhanging concrete ledge. _Please don't be late!_

**Ping: **I hope I didn't miss my Soaps!!

At last, across the street from where he sat, school bells rang. Mere seconds later, throngs of students burst through the closed doors, chittering and chattering their way home. Of course, this was no mere school. It was a…

**Chin: **…extremely generic one?

**Ping: **…radically common one!?

"I _love _private schools!!" He jumped up to his feet.

**Chin: **Yeah, I hate it when my feet try to fly away…

The wooden sandals clacked against the concrete as he cheered in admiration of the spectacle before him. "Such cute uniforms! I wonder if Sereitei would ever allow the girls at the Academy wear those..."

**Ping: **Or maybe if the women of the Secret Forces all had to wear TINY MINISKIRTS!!

**Typewriterman: **Oh yeah, that's _definitely _an original joke…not some kind of reference at all…

Despite his busying his mind with a plethora of possible outcomes, his eyes kept watch and alert at the crowd of girls; sifting through while finding the target.

**Ping: **Oh, oh! I think he found Waldo!

His irises focused on the raven haired girl, and his mind was brought back to reality.

"_There _she is…" smirking stupidly, anyone who had the power to see him would also have noticed the ridiculous cat ears that randomly sprouted from his head. Singling out his target, the raven haired girl was easily spotted amongst the hundreds of others dressed just like her.

"_This is going to take some subtlety…"_

**Ping: **I would make a JFK joke right now, but I'll wait till later…

**Chin: **Wow, that's just inappropriate…

"Hey girl! You can see me, right!?" he suddenly called out. He screamed at the top of his lungs down toward the crowd of girls, yet no one seemed to be able to hear him. The girl in question continued walking along with her friends, and was soon out of view in a matter of seconds.

"Oh well…" he admitted, "Guess its back to work…time to get back to my patrol." Smirking once again, the black garbed figure disappeared in another flash step.

--

"Finally!"

"Yeah, I thought Mr. Green wouldn't let us out at all!"

"I know, he's such a prude…"

**Chin: **Wait…. 'Prude'?

**Typewriterman: **To this day, I still have no idea what was running through my mind when I wrote their dialogue….

The week was finally over with, and the girls of Private School 265 were eager to get started on their weekend plans. There was only one more week of school left, leaving three days for final exams and the last to be a private—in school—graduation ceremony for those girls moving off to their prospective colleges.

"…And Kyle was like…"

**Ping: **Oh my god, you killed Kenny!!

"…Oh really? No way…"

**Chin: **…you…bastard…?

Despite all of the happy conversations going on around her, a certain raven haired girl couldn't help but keep a dour look on her face.

**Ping: **Must be the sour Skittles…

Of course she would smile when prodded to, laugh when a joke was made, or even crack a snappy remark of her own once in a while. The only problem was, the rest of the time, her face was so serious, that most of the students thought she was scary.

"So are you going to Piezo's party tonight? Shan?"

"Mmm? Oh…I don't know…" The young girl silently winced. If it were anyone other than Jojo who witnessed the reaction, Shan wouldn't know _what _to do. "Sorry about that Jo…"

"Heh, he's just Piezo is all…" she admitted. The taller brunette smiled at her smaller friend, and couldn't help but to muss up the smaller girl's hair.

**Typewriterman: **Funny story, Jojo and Piezo are two fanfic writers on and I have no doubt in my mind that they have no idea that their names were used in this fic.

**Ping: **…and?

**Typewriterman: **'…and' what?

"Quit tha-"

"-Hey girl!"

"_Oh no…" _Shan mumbled under her breath, _"What are you doing now?"_

**Chin: **That was the worst "funny story" ever…

"What was that Shan?" Nervously shaking her head, amber eyes looked up embarrassed at her taller friend.

"Nothing…nothing…" Shan chuckled. In fact, she laughed uproariously to cover up her earlier murmurings. Assured that she threw off her friend's curiosity, the raven haired girl dropped her head low enough to hide her blush behind her hair. Another benefit was to be able to peek up to the rooftops across the street as well.

_Why's he still hanging around?_

**Ping: **I'm surprised she didn't just crawl out of a well, with her hair being worn like that.

**Chin: **Was that seriously supposed to be a Ringu reference?

**Typewriterman: **I thought it was pretty good…

She learned to keep her suspicions inside her head.

**Ping: **Next to the teen angst and caramel Twix…

Hidden amongst the wave of school girls similarly dressed like her, Shan was able to see the dark clothed boy standing and waving down stupidly. In fact, only recently, she had been seeing strange things increasingly and more often.

_Why doesn't anyone else see him? Is everyone around me crazy, or something!?_

**Ping: **"I mean, that guy's wearing all red, with that weird red and white scarf…and those thick rimmed glasses….!"

**Typewriterman: **Oh ho, I found _that _reference, haha!

She turned her amber eyes back in front of her as she and many other girls descended the steps to the subway trains. Along with Jojo, Shan lived outside the city, more or less in the surrounding suburbs. Following years of redundancy, Shan took out her school identification card in order to pass the station tolls. Other girls did the same, as well as Jojo too.

**Ping: **Because apparently Jojo doesn't count as a girl?

Shan slid her green tinted card through the card reader, and was instantly granted access to the high speed form of transportation. The other students passed through using their cards as well, using one of four colors each. The tall brunette passed though right after her smaller friend, which held a blue tint instead. The train was waiting for them, and the girls all clamored to get on at once. Luckily for the pair, they not only reached the train on time, they managed to grab seats as well.

**Chin: **Collect all four, today!!

A quick jerk signaled the train's departure, as many of the standing passengers braced for it as soon as the mumbled ramblings of the conductor halted. A few stations later, and the train finally emerged from the artificially lit cavern, and into the daylight on the street level.

"So how's progress with you-know-who?"

"With who now?" Shan kept her voice calm. Distracted would be a more accurate term for it.

"You know who I'm talking about…right?"

**Ping: **Wait…what?

**Chin: **Something about someone…taking something…and a cookie jar…?

The girl heard the voice closer to her ear, possibly since the taller brunette had leaned closer to it for dramatic effect. But it didn't matter, Shan was too preoccupied with the person sitting next to her. To everyone else they would see an empty seat, but to her, Shan was able to see the familiar bloody apparition still waiting for her stop. The near-transparent woman hadn't always been visible to her, but until recently, had only appeared as a blur hovering over the seat.

**Ping: **I guess she didn't register high enough in the popularity ladder, huh?

"Oh, I guess you're talking to your imaginary friend again, huh?" Jojo chuckled gingerly.

**Chin: "**Oh, you know Bloo, too…?"

"She's not imaginary Jo…you just can't see her." Shan huffed and faced forward once more.

_And you probably don't see all the other people waiting for their stops too…_ By now the train car would be relatively empty by most people standards, but once again Shan's unique perspective saw what others did not. _Maybe I need glasses or something…_

**Ping: "**I knew I shouldn't have let Grimm give me that scythe laser eye surgery…"

**Typewriterman: **Oh, you guys suck…

"Anyways, this is my stop." Jojo chirped as she stood up. "I'll call you before the party tonight. And remember, I want details!"

**Ping: **The plan must go perfectly if we are to succeed in bombing Pearl Harbor!

**Chin: **Dude!? That's messed up!

**Ping: **…too soon…?

"Details? Of what?" Shan could never understand what her elusive friend talked about. Of course, she never really paid attention to her for the most part either. Still, one more station, and a few more minutes of walking would provide her the perfect start for the weekend; a nice, hot bath.

Like most things in life, it wouldn't come easy for her…

--

"Hiya Shan-chan!"

"Knock it off, Ping. You read too many manga as it is…"

Enter Ping Ju…Shan's number one self-proclaimed fan.

**Chin: **pffft…you're a Ju…

**Typewriterman: **…wow…

**Ping: **And you're calling _me _messed up?

His classic bushy brown hair screamed out 'bed hair', and his eyes bulged more from excitement than most characters in cartoon shows.

**Chin: **Must be all the drugs…

**Typewriterman: **Definitely….

Just about Shan's age, the intriguingly hyperactive boy had moved into the neighborhood around a year ago, just in time for Shan's eighth grade of school. It didn't take long for him to be attached to her simply because she let him cheat off her French finals. Since then, he's been a pain in her sides, and even asked her out to senior prom once—three years from now!

**Chin: **…

**Ping: **I like to think of the future….guys…?

"C'mon Shan-chan…why won't you go to Piezo's party tonight? I heard it's going to be awesome!" The boy trailed a short distance behind the quickening pace of his supposed 'idol'.

"Yeah right _party boy_…" she wittingly remarked, "you're just going to take advantage of drunken high school girls…" She tried to take one step per individual sidewalk square in an effort to speed up her pace even more.

**Ping: **Hmmm yes…those were the days….

**Chin: **…wait, but aren't you-

**Ping: -**Shhh! If they don't know my age, it's _not _illegal!

"What!? I would _never _do such an underhanded thing…" Before she knew it, the annoying boy had sneaked right up to her ear "_unless it's _you, _of course…" _He whispered with a hiss.

**Typewriterman: **Awww…I didn't need to hear that…

More annoyed than grossed out, Shan instinctively sent a back fist over her left shoulder, instantly knocking the perverted 'otaku' to the ground. "Soh aie-yell pick you up aht sih-cks?" The boy clenched at his throbbing nose.

**Chin: **If he had glasses and was wheezing as he breathed, that would've been the greatest _Hey Arnold _reference gag!

Ignoring the sniffles of pain from behind her, Shan finally managed to retreat into her two story house. Without any further ado, she rushed upstairs—two at a time—to finally take that long awaited hot-bath.

--

_Why's it so slow around here? _

**Ping: **That's what _she _said!

**Chin: **What…?

The dark figure appeared suddenly atop a building rooftop; high enough to see a vast distance in front of him, but low enough to make any necessary drops to the ground faster.

_If I don't get an order within _thirty seconds, _I'll…_

**Ping: **Hold my breath and stomp my feet a lot!

With an eerie sense of time, his cell phone rang, and the boy instantly flipped it open. _Geez what lousy timing…I guess I'm back on the clock then…_ the boy returned the cell phone into his pocket, and lightly rubbed the bridge of his nose. _I thought I'd almost sneeze…_

He began looking around him for any visual landmarks, and gaining sight on the far off supermarket, he disappeared towards the direction of the setting sun.

**Ping: **"Sweet! I need some new pads!"

**Chin: **That's it!!!

**Typewriterman: **Whoa, watch out with that violence!!

--

"I'm jealous of you Jo…"

"What do you mean?"

Despite her earlier efforts, Shan was unable to resist the persuasive rhetoric of her brunette friend…

"_Come on Shan…please? Please come!"_

"_Jo…are those…tears!?"_

**Ping: **I'll show you mine if you show me yours…

The raven haired girl sighed at the memory of the incident, and adjusted her hold of the large brown paper bag as she did so. "You know what I mean Jo…we've been through this thousands of times!"

"I know, but I want to hear you say it again." The tall brunette said arrogantly. Even so, there was still a hint of naiveté in her tone of voice.

**Ping: **"…you make me so h-"

**Chin: -**Stop that!

Sighing again, Shan adjusted her grip on the bag and repeated "those" words as if she were rehearsing for a play.

**Chin: **Oh dear lord, don't let him actually be right…

"You're tall, you're gorgeous, your brother's a soccer player, _and _you look old enough to buy liquor…which you do quite often, in fact!" She shook the bag in her hands to prove her point, and the bouncy sound of liquids answered back.

**Ping: **Awwww…

"Well, Petey bought them last time…"

**Typewriterman: **What kind of high schoolers are they?

**Chin: **Cool ones?

"I'll never understand what you see in him…" Shan exhaled.

**Chin: **I have a few guesses…

It would be a few more minutes of walking until the two girls stepped off the supermarket parking lot, but the party hub was conveniently located just a block away. Even though they were both close to ending their status as freshman girls, Shan _still _felt that she was treated as a (lower) underclassman—reduced to fetching party stuffs under constant pressure from the chance of being caught by roaming "Popo".

**Ping: **No you did _not _just type that….

**Typewriterman: **What? It's funny!

"So, did you-know-who ask you out yet?"

**Ping: **Hey, Chin…I bet you twenty bucks I can get Shan to say my name in a really cute way….

**Chin: **…hmmm…you're on!

"When _doesn't_ the kid do that?" Shan shrugged pensively, "at least he's not pulling out my hair or something…"

"Why would he do that?" Jojo asked oblivious to the joke.

**Chin: **You _suck_!

"Just call your boy-toy to help us out…" Shan admonished when they reached the house in question. Just as the two arrived at the front door, the white painted door creaked open to reveal a tanned Brazilian man-god.

"Well, kh-ello ladies!" He greeted them in a saucy accent.

**Ping: **I don't even want to ask…

"Drop the act Rodrigo, and get your friend here, please!" Shan easily commanded. "Actually, since you're so helpful, just carry these _for _us." She dropped the bags into the tall boy's arms, and even added her tall brunette's loads to have him carry.

"Yes ma'am…" the Brazilian answered softly, dropping his accent, and stumbled into the kitchen.

**Typewriterman: **It's has a natural Jersey accent, if you were wondering…

**Chin: **Don't worry, we weren't.

"Hey Shan, hey Jo-bear!" a voice called from inside the house. "Come on in!" They agreed to the offer, and the girls headed straight for the living room. They sat on the nearest couch, which sat across from a second, smaller couch, keeping a coffee table in-between.

**Chin: **Geez, there's no windows, no television, just couches and a table!?

Sitting on the smaller couch, a slightly shorter, slightly paler, glasses wearing boy checked off a list with a marker. Wearing a disheveled dress shirt, and an untied necktie, the boy also had several other sheets of paper in addition to the checklist lying strewn about the coffee table, and a can of Kooka Cola. \

**Chin: **…I stand corrected…

"Hey Petey!" Jojo cheered happily, and leaned on the boy.

_Please Jo…you could do _so _much better than him…_

**Ping: **NEEEEEERRRD!!!

"What you up to, Petey?" the long haired brunette asked coyly of the obviously busy boy next to her.

"Hmmm, the party's tonight, and I _still _have no idea what happened to the band that I asked for. Those guys must've gotten themselves in trouble again."

**Chin: **What, they're off solving mysterious while driving around in their VW van?

Like Shan and Jojo, Piezo and Rodrigo went to a private school—except theirs was an all boy's one.

Private School 264 was originally built to be a rival of a then—all boy's version of Private School 265—but as progressiveness reached the education front in addition to the women's rights movement, 265 was turned into an all girls high school, whereas 264 was simply remodeled to hold more students.

**Ping: **What the heck does that mean!?

"Don't worry about it, Jo-bear…I got it handled." The glasses wearing boy lightly pecked her friend's cheek with a kiss and went back to work. Shan's eye twitched at the mere sound of it, and she quickly grabbed Jojo's toned arm.

**Chin: **It's odd whenever you just suddenly decide to become very descriptive…

"Sorry Piezo, I forgot something…outside!" She calmly explained, and pulled Jojo with her out the front door.

"Oh, uh….just be back by nine! The band should be set up by then!"

--

_Are you kidding me? _

Leaning his hand on the hilt of his blade, the dark clothed figure perched on a slanted house roof.

_Its _way _past the scheduled appearance…is intelligence _sure_ that a Hollow's supposed to appear here?_

**Ping: **Pft…is that supposed to be _you_!?

**Chin: **Wow, thanks for the spoiler alert, you jerk!

Unsure of what else to do, the boy laid himself onto the tiled roof and sighed in boredom.

_Now what?_

Just as he closed his heavy eye lids, a piercing wail shocked him back to consciousness. And it sounded close, too.

**Ping: **Ha! So's your face!!

**Typewriterman: **…

--

"Wait-a-minute-Shan!" Jojo tried to fight back, but was overpowered by her smaller compatriot.

**Chin: **Bow chika wah-wah?

Forced outside the house and all the way down the driveway, the tall brunette stared daggers into her childishly acting friend until they stopped just at the sidewalk. "What is the _matter _with you, Shan!?"

"Jo, I can't stand this anymore…" Shan responded, "You can do _so _much better than that guy!"

**Ping: **Oh geez…girl problems…I _really_ don't care about this…let's just skip ahead to the action!

**Chin: **For once, I'll actually have to agree with you…

"How could you say such a thing?" Jojo was appalled by her 'friend's' sudden behavior. "I knew you didn't like him, and sure you two didn't work out so well, but…" She had finally managed to shake off Shan's tight grip around her wrist, but stayed to finish her lecture.

"I never knew you could be such a bitch!!" She took off back towards the house, leaving a stunned Shan to stare ahead in a general direction.

The front door slammed shut, while the raven haired girl stayed in a sort of "social-shock" at the edge of the driveway next to the sidewalk. She lowered her head just a little, in case anyone was watching through a window. Although her long bangs were able to hide her eyes, they couldn't keep a single tear to run down her cheek. She sniffled once, and whipped the growing tears off her face before she began her trip back home.

Forgetting that turning right was a dead end, she quickly made a pedestrian U-turn hoping that no one saw her navigational mistake. Shan just shook her head and reminded herself that she was supposed to be mad.

"I want some ice cream…" She grumbled.

--

"Oh…that's just rich…" Standing in front of the so-called _automatic doors_, the dark garbed figure jumped from his spot on the black mat.

**Ping: **So, what did you guys do during that chick stuff?

**Chin: **I took up painting…almost finished

**Typewriterman: **I managed to finish a whole prologue for a story I'm working on

**Ping:** Nice

A few people began to head towards the door, and timing it just right; he managed to squeeze through the doors that finally opened.

"Now…where are you?" He readied his hand on his hilt. Walking down the fresh fruits lane, he took a right into the snacks aisle to continue his…search…

--

Shan couldn't believe what her own friend had called her. Sure, 'bitch' today was considered a compliment in comparison to the exotic choices available, but it was the principle of the matter…not simply the word usage itself.

**Chin: **Is that supposed to be some kind of witty social commentary?

**Typewriterman: **Actually, yeah…

**Ping: **You _suck_!

"He's a jerk who only _says _that he changed…lousy Petey…" It was lucky enough that the streets were empty, as anyone nearby would've considered calling the police. A person who argued out loud wasn't normally seen as stable.

**Chin: **Something we're missing about the storyline, here?

Of course, still wrapped in her own bubble of anger, Shan absentmindedly walked into a cul-de-sac, whereas she lived a few blocks away…in the other direction.

"T_hat's _just great!"

**Ping: **"I'm lost in a strange neighborhood at night and all alone…lucky that nothing bad could _ever _happen…ever!"

**Typewriterman: **…shut up…

Even during the early summer months, the sun had already set, leaving Shan under the cover of darkness. Only sparse streetlights kept watch over the surrounding neighborhood now, while lots of headlights would soon change that in the coming hours. "Now I have to walk all the way back there, and make a right! Stupid Jo…this is all _her _fault…"

**Ping: **"…Making me talk out loud to myself, all for the sake of really boring attempts at being funny…"

**Chin: **You're really good at that, Ping!

**Ping: **Heheh, thanks

She began to backtrack towards the T-intersection in an angry grumble, but couldn't help but to slowly tire of the mood. As she came closer and closer to the corner light, her conscience began to have a bigger and bigger say in her mindset.

_She's your best friend! Heck, you live in __**her **__house…can't you support her decisions?_

**Chin: **Well that came out of left field…

**Ping: **Doesn't Emiko and Tatsuki live in the Ishida's house kind of like that? Wow you're uncreative…

"Bah…" was her only response to her inner voice's logic. "I warned her about him when he broke up with me…"

Piezo's white house came back into view when she reached the corner light, and Shan cursed herself for forgetting how she and Jojo had walked there in the first place.

**Ping: **And what kinds of names are these, anyways!? Shan!? Jojo!?

**Chin: **Don't try too hard with the nitpicking, Ping…you've already made your point…

**Typewriterman: **And I already explain about the names near the beginning, remember?

Trying to reach a compromise, the raven haired girl leaned against the light pole, but not towards the house. The supermarket in the distance was a better, less frustrating view. Unless you take free-samples day Fridays out of the equation, but that doesn't count at all.

Does it?

**Ping: **No…not really…

**Typewriterman: **Wait…which did you say that to?

Uncharacteristic of the summer weather, Shan couldn't help but feel a chill blow, causing a slight shiver down to the entirety of her spine. Goosebumps popped up all over her skin, and she reactively rubbed her arms down to press them back down. Just as she thought anything couldn't be any weirder, the metal pole that she leaned on…it began to creak from pressure.

It couldn't have been from her leaning against it…that would just insulting.

**Chin: **Fat joke?

**Typewriterman: **Fat joke

The more pressing matter was that the pole was slowly bending towards her. Too lazy to look over her shoulder, Shan looked up towards the light pole top itself and shrieked.

A demonic smile looked down on her, surrounded by a freakish white Oni mask.

**Ping: **Santa Cabeza!?

With dark soulless eyes, its teeth flashed an even grimmer and sadistic looking smile at its prey.

**Chin: **Just like Michael J---son!

Too scared to even do the most basic of things (like running for example), Shan shivered with fear, rather than a constant flow of cold air blowing against what bare skin there was to her casual clothes.

**Chin: **Sentence fragment, much?

**Typewriterman: **Word didn't have a problem with that one, though…

Emitting a loud unearthly howl, the beast dropped down, effectively breaking the light pole into an electrically sizzling heap. The sudden crackle of ripped wires drove her away from the crash, and her feet finally received the message that her brain had been trying to desperately send over the course of the whole ordeal.

**Ping: **Yeah, and that would have been, "RUN BITCH, RUN!!!"

**Chin: "**This ain't no movie!! Don't put down the controller! Press the 'A' button, bitch!!!"

Running towards the first place that came to mind, Shan panted as she forced her trembling form towards the white house now just twenty feet away.

**Ping: **"Must…get…to…White…Castle….!"

Her hopes would be dashed, and her world tumbled down when Shan felt a huge force push her from behind. She rolled across the lawn until a giant hand pressed down on her like she was a spinning quarter. Now pinned to the ground, Shan screamed and shrieked as loud as her lungs and throat would allow.

"HELP! HE-E-E-LP!!"

**Chin: **Oh…you must've been watching too much of _that _anime, huh?

**Typewriterman: **What!? No! It's not what you think!!

**Ping: **…riiiiiight….

Unlike where the street light blinded her eyes to anything but the ghastly mask, Shan could now see the entirety of the form that was crushing the air out of her. A dark tealish color—most likely due to the lack of light, and body proportions that would've made her laugh hysterically…if it weren't for the sheer terror that was coursing through her at the moment. Its legs and feet were gigantic, muscled demonic forms while in vast comparison its arms were wiry, but ended in huge adult human sized claws. One of which pressed firmly down on the squirming Shan. Covering its face was the white mask. Its animation of pure hunger could be seen as a surrogate face as well. The only thing more striking though, was the large hole in its chest.

"Please…help me..." Shan tried to cry with what ever breath she had, but the huge beast let out a deep wheezy laugh at the sight of the frantic girl.

**Ping: **Must've thought of something about leeks…

**Chin: **Yes…quite…

_Oh my god…I'm going to die…its going to eat me…_

**Ping: **Just like R. K---y!

Trembling at the thought, Shan struggled even more as the huge monster opened its evil grinning mouth. Its tongue slathered over its own face, and slowly, it began to bend down with teeth bare, as if devouring the fear that she exuded like an appetizer.

**Typewriterman: **Just like the B--h Administration!

_No…I'm not going to let it end like this…_

"NO!" Resigning to her most basic instincts, Shan bared her own teeth. She bit into the skin of the monster's giant claw, and managed to elicit a howl from the creature. Droplets of dark, warm red dripped onto her forehead, and frightened, she jerked her head back.

**Ping: **Ewwww….

Streams of red poured out of the white faced beast, which disintegrated along with its body into nothingness.

**Chin: **Try some Orbitz gum…it'll leave a _clean _feeling!

**Typewriterman: **Brilliant!

As if her ribs were popping back into place, Shan clenched her eyes against the sharp pains in her ribcage. The sudden change of pressure caused her to cough violently, and she strained to sit up.

"Whoa there missy, just relax." A gentle hand pushed her back to lie on the ground, and brushed her hair back.

**Chin: **Said the strangely out of place gentleman cowboy?

Despite someone acting casually with her, it wasn't so bad compared to being eaten alive.

**Ping: **Weird how her priorities are arranged so coincidentally…

Hoping to mentally slow down her fast beating heart, Shan raised her shaking hand and placed it on her chest, only to find a metal chain obstruct it.

"What?" her throat raspy from screaming, she could only softly groan out her words. "P…Ping?" she lightly coughed out.

**Ping: **Woo hoo!! You owe me twenty bucks, bizzitch!!

**Chin: **What!? No fair! You cheated!!

Her amber eyes tried to focus through the tears, and in the darkness she was sure that the bushy haired boy had gotten too serious with his samurai shows.

"Who, me?"

* * *

**Typewriterman: **That's it for part one of this Super Special Omake! I really advise you to take a bathroom break/food break, and stay tuned for some updates for the main story coming soon after I get back to my other ones. Anyways, I'd like to thank Chin….

**Chin: **This was average…I've read better…

**Typewriterman: **…and Ping…

**Ping: **I'm a bad guy in the end, you know? Whoops…that was a spoiler, haha! Seriously…I'll keep spilling those out until I get my money, Chin!

**Typewriterman: ** …you jackass…

**Chin: **...Besides, aren't MSTs not allowed on Psh, this was a self MST, remember? What's the worst they could do anyways, report me?

**Ping: **Whoops…too late…


	12. Cancelled?

Emiko was nervous. 

Well, that was the short version of how she was feeling, anyways. Although she could always thank her acting teacher for all she's done, Emiko could only really thank Mrs. Kurosaki and her own strangely gifted acting ability, and all of the knowledge that she had imparted upon her. And her mom too, of course…that was a given.

Speaking of which; Her mom…such a strong willed woman. And that's to say in her personality, drive _and _in the literal sense as well. Despite a fruitless marriage in the end, Emiko knew her parents tried to stay together just for her. Although every so often they argued, bickered or snapped at each other, at the same time, she knew that they had such great times together. The divorce was a lot less messy than the newspapers and tabloids or rumors made it. They printed articles with headings such as "Celebrity fighter throws her husband out of the house", "Money woes for relationship, alimony or prenuptual agreement gone astray?" or "Fighting both in the ring, and at home: Tatsuki, a marriage gone sour". In fact, from what she knew of the settlement, it was really quick and painless.

Life for them after the breakup though, wasn't.

-

"Alright everyone, intermission's almost over! Places, people, places!" The stage director yelled out. At this, crew and other actors quickly began moving, "Emiko, what are you doing just standing around? Move!"

"What? Oh…sorry!" she stuttered, although the small man didn't wait for her explanation, and pushed Emiko toward the costume area.

-

It wasn't as though they were homeless or anything, no. Instead, she and her mom lived with family, whether extended or direct. It was just that Tatsuki couldn't stand depending on them for so long, as if seeming that she needed handouts. And so, they've been nearly all over Japan as house guests, and once or twice in a hotel or motel. Wherever they stayed, Tatsuki applied for a steady job, but her career in the spotlight more often than not messed up her chances. It took a while, but news from a dear old friend who had found a quaint little town outside Karakura was too intriguing to pass up…after a little pestering of course. Actually, it was quite the concerted effort for Orihime to be able to help her. How it was possible? It was _Orihime _who did it…so who really knows?

-

"Everyone's starting to filter in, Mr. Shiseki!" a stage hand popped his head in. "The set should be ready in five!" he informed the two before disappearing behind the curtain.

"Oh geez…Emiko! Hurry up with that costume change!" The man absentmindedly latched on the girl's shirt in an attempt to tug it off, only to have his hand bruised heavily and flinch out of pain. "Yaaagh!!" He winced and glanced at the culprit, but was caught off guard by a wide eyed, nervous looking woman. "Who the heck are you!?"

"…um…excuse me…" she began, but glanced backwards to the dressing room curtain for some sort of inspiration.

"_Ururu, you're doing great…We'll be around, don't worry…_"

"…ok…" the meek looking raven haired woman looked back to Emiko and the pain stricken stage manager, and cleared her throat. "Sir…let me handle that….uh, you still have to deal with everything else before the intermission ends…right…?"

"…Oh no! You're right!" the man exclaimed, "thanks for reminding me, kid. I'll make sure the drama teacher gives you extra credit!" Despite his injured hand, he hurried back out and disappeared behind the curtain.

The two girls looked at the curtain, now moving slowly from the previous sudden movement. Then their eyes turned to each other. Emiko's blush of embarrassment began to recede from the presence of the second girl, and Ururu felt calmer now that the small loud man was gone. "He thought I went to school here…" Ururu giggled softly, and Emiko chuckled as well. She brushed her hand through her raven hair, littered with several purple streaks. "It's nice to see you again, Ms. Arisawa." She bowed slightly.

"Oh…" Emiko was taken slightly off guard by such a polite gesture, "...nice to see you too, Ms.Tsumugiya."

--

"We've got _one_ minute, people." The stage manager said. The raucous ramblings of the audience could be heard from behind the curtain stage, and some beams of light managed to pierce through the openings made by curious students who peered outwards while dressed in their costume garb.

"Hey there, guys…" Emiko said hushed, while still adjusting her kimono. "Sorry, there was a bit of wardrobe malfunction." Although a few of the students snickered, the stage manager focused more on the play than lightening up.

"Alright, are you all ok?" it was a habit of his, to ask that as if something monumental had just happened, and he needed to make sure the actors were capable of performing. But everyone was used to it, and all nodded their heads silently.

The click of spotlights, and waning house lights signaled the last few seconds before the performance began again, along with hushes and loudly whispered comments from the audience. The two actors on stage—three if you counted Emiko—swiftly moved to their spots among the props and scenery, as the narrator's voice recapped what had happened in the story so far, and explained the situation since the end of the first act. In reality, it was just Mr. Shiseki reading from the script into a microphone, with the practiced voice from his voice-over work for the local anime.

"You ready?"

"You bet!"

"That's good to hear. What about you, Emiko?"

"Uh, definitely!" Her heart was racing now. This was no different than any of her other performances, since she always had one distinct face in the crowd, a woman who was always there when she needed support. And tonight's performance was slightly more special; her friends Aiko and Setsuko would be there as well, but there was one more presence that was attending. She couldn't put her finger on it, but although it was unfamiliar, it felt close to her somehow.

The curtain began to draw open, and the audience came into view of the actors. As perfect as the night had been so far, a single shriek threw all notions of that asunder...

The sight of it chilled her to the bones. The white demon face leered at her, its inner set of teeth howled with indescribable pain. Its freakish muscles tensed as the devilish claws tore through the wooden stage; splinters sprayed and flew in all manner of courses through the air. Her glance flickered to her left and right, as the other students watched in disbelief at the sudden explosion of the scene around them, though still unaware of the ghastly beast that drew its breath again.

A claw raised high into the air, and cast a shadow as it silhouetted the stage lights above. A spray of red suddenly splashed against her face, as the hand meant to harm her flew in an opposite direction; sharply torn off at the wrist. A second screech sounded out now from its inhuman mouth, and sang a disgusting background to a blur of black and red that soared towards them.

His eyes shone with the fury of hellfire itself, his teeth bare and hands wrapped against the hilt of his weapon. With the speed that no human could possess, he flew through the air like a madman. "ROAR…" his voice boomed, with his hand placed flat against his blade. "…ZABIMA-" he hesitated; shocked at the bladed weapon that pierced through him from behind. Renji turned his head, and laid his eyes upon the masked assailant.

"Can't have _that _happen now, can we…?" The attacker's eyes coolly looked at his victim's own with deranged pleasure. With a sick grunt, Renji collapsed to the stage, as the masked man's sword pointed downwards, drenched in blood. He slid his mask to reveal his face, as his eyes were darkened to a hazel brown; the whites receded to the powers of Hollowification. "…just before you finally keel over, Shinigami, I want you to know the name of the man responsible for your death, is Ping Ju…"

All around them, screams of shrieks burst out as those unaware tried to escape. Through the chaos of it all, they paid no notice to the battlefield, only fearing some sort of explosion had gone off. Without any sign of spirit power, the terrified audience could not see the dying man who lay on an unbroken piece of the wooden stage, unconscious from pain and shock.

Ping grinned. Without even looking, the Hollowfied attacker blocked the raven haired woman's destructive kick with his forearm. _"…must destroy…the enemy…"_ her voice in a trance, Ururu focused on the now unmasked swordsman.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Ping scoffed with a smile, until he felt the sharp of the blade pressed against his throat. It was then he realized that everything around them was standing still, somehow frozen in place. The terrified civilians caught in a moment of time, like that of a photograph. A soft breeze blew granules of sand about him, where wind could not have entered, and there was no sand before.

"…no, we're not…" pressed between his two opponents, Ping took little chance against the woman's inhuman leg strength against his right arm, and maneuvered to push his dripping sword edge against the blade attempting to slit his throat. "…just so you know…" the man behind him growled, "…the Shinigami whom you attacked is my comrade…the Vice Captain of Squad six…so it would only be appropriate for you to be killed by a fellow Vice Captain…of the thirteenth squad…"

* * *

--End of Story Arc _part 1_--

---

--

-

**-- OC Trivia Corner**!!! -- (part 3)

**Ping Ju** was once a Shinigami, but left Sereitei along with Kazuhiro and his comrades into hiding. Years later, he and an enigmatic old man named Hisashi surfaced to kidnap Aiko Kurosaki in a failed attempt to have her father, Ichigo, join the _Ataenushi no Ouju_ (Death Givers). Infatuated with Aiko to almost an obsession, Ping took a lethal strike from a Hollow to save her from harm, and was dragged into Hueco Mundo where he fought to stay alive and keep his soul and mind intact.

His time in Hueco Mundo brought endless attacks by Hollows upon his weakened form, all looking to devour him. One had succeeded in digesting him, but was soon destroyed however when it attempted to take control of his body, and allowed Ping to take control of the Hollow instead, thus creating a Vizard. Wild in sword style, his Zanpakuto's name had lost meaning to him since his Hollowfication, though it is unclear whether he lost memory of it, or if he just thinks lesser of the Shinigami since his transformation. This leaves him to rely solely on speed and on his unpredictability in combat.

**Height: **175 cm**  
**

**Obsessed: **Shan Xiu aka Aiko Kurosaki, marshmallow peeps**  
**

**Hates: **Obstacles to his goals, Chin, Mikio

**Birthday: **July 28

**Favorite U.S. President: **Theodore Roosevelt**  
**

--

**Kon: **I don't know what to say about that Ping-teme...he's a jerk, and just plain flipped out crazy!


	13. What to look forward to

--begin Story Arc _part 2_--

* * *

She looked at him with amazement. It had to have been déjà vu, or maybe it was just the strangeness of the situation in general, but…Tatsuki could've sworn that she was in this position before… 

There Renji lay, draped under a light blanket atop a futon on the floor; unconscious and recovering from the recent battle. He was taken by surprise; pierced in an un-chivalrous manner through his back. The sword point had missed all but one vital organ, but a deflated lung was nothing to complain about when compared to the unbelievable injuries he had suffered in past fights. Nearly torn apart by thousands upon thousands of needle-like pieces of Senbonsakura, or assaulted by the Bounto, or thrashed by vicious Arrancar in Hueco Mundo; a single—and simple if you ever had the gall to ask squad eleven—thrust wound was easily sustainable until Orihime had arrived to act as both paramedic _and _surgeon.

Although his physical form had been fully repaired, there was always the matter of giving the mind its rest. At this point, everyone excluding the kids had done their share of watching over the unconscious man, and at the moment, it just happened to be her shift.

"I should've brought a book or something…" She grumbled out loud to herself. They were currently in the second guest room of the Ishida household. That's right…a _second_ guest room. There were certainly perks to marrying a doctor, as well as being a Real Estate Agent, yourself…that was Tatsuki's take on Orihime and Uryuu, anyways.

She glanced over to the unconscious Renji, wrapped in the light blanket atop the futon. "Why do you always do this to me, you idiot…" she sighed. "Always looking for a fight…and for what? To swoon me off my feet, or something stupid like that?" She pouted at the thought. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to growl out in frustration. "That's just like you…you know, as soon as you wake up…I swear…I'm going to kick your ass myself…_then_ you'll have an excuse to be unconscious…"

It was a miracle in itself that Renji had held on as long as he did until Orihime arrived. Considering the seriousness of the fight that day…

--

_Bursting out from the small twister of sand, the brown haired assailant jumped backwards into the now emptied seats of the evacuated theatre. Landing carefully on the edge in the front row, he smiled sadistically, before sliding his mask down to re-cover his face once again._

_On stage, the twister had now vanished, leaving the one purple haired young woman and a darkly clothed man; Ururu and an unnamed Shinigami. The pool of red between them surrounded the unmoving body of the red haired man who jumped to protect Emiko, while shrieking at the stage was the one handed Hollow._

_From where they sat, Uryuu and Tatsuki immediately jumped to their feet. "Tatsuki, take the girls and get out of here!" he commanded, and readied his Quincy cross. Glancing to his left however, he noticed only Aiko sitting there, with a yellow lion plush in her grasp. He had to only stare at her for a second, before realizing what reiatsu he was feeling. "…KON!? What are _you _doing here!?"_

"_S-sorry…!" she squealed pathetically, "…they forced me to…!" _

"_Uryuu, there they are!" Tatsuki pointed towards the stage, where two girls charged the looming masked beast. They could only watch, as from a single slice and a single shot from their respective Zanpakuto and reiatsu arrow, they immediately dispersed the Hollow._

--

"Ms. Arisawa?" Tatsuki blinked, only after the second time, did her mind register the voice. Her head turned to her right where the doorway was, and a young man stood, waiting for an answer. "Am I bothering you? I could come back later, you know…"

"Oh no, sorry…" his name escaped her now, but she was sure he wouldn't notice. She pinched her nose bridge between her index finger and thumb. After rubbing her eyes, she finally looked back at the patiently waiting man. "Did you need something?"

"I just thought you could use some rest, is all." Chin chuckled, "or at least get a cup of coffee. I'll watch over him for you if you want."

Tatsuki sighed. Rest was sounding better and better by the minute now, and she still had to check up on Emiko. And it wasn't like Renji would be getting up and going anywhere soon, right? "Yeah…that sounds good, thanks." Brushing her hand through her unwashed hair, Tatsuki stood up for the first time in what seemed like an hour, and tiredly yet eagerly made her way to the door.

From the corner of his eye, Chin could've sworn that she glanced back to the unconscious man lying in the futon, and grinned. "So, Vice Captain Abarai, I guess it's just you and me now…" he breathed out.

He dropped down to the floor, finally giving his legs some rest for the first time in an eternity. "Seems like someone's got it out for you, huh?" He kept speaking to the unconscious man. Chin looked towards the sheathed sword lying at Renji's side. _I wonder how Zabimaru thinks about all this… _ "A little too close for comfort with that guy's sword, right…?"

--

"_Is that you, Chin? So nice to see you…" the Hollowfied assailant managed a smirk, despite the blade at his throat and the strengthening force against his arm. With a simple flick of his wrist, his sword struck against the Shinigami's, and snaked his sword point towards the young woman, forcing her to jump back in order to avoid it._

_Taking this chance, he burst through the controlled twister of sand that had formed around them, breaking the hold on time the Shinigami had. Crashing into the now empty chairs, he cackled, and slid the demonic toothy mask over his face again._

"_Oh nuts…" Chin mumbled. "Ok Ms. Tsumugiya, we're going to have to-" Without waiting for him to finish, she lunged after the masked man, leaving Chin stupefied. "Ok…" he sighed, "…I guess _I'll _take Renji, while you take care of that guy…" From afar, she swung a bone crushing roundhouse kick, only to be evaded with ease. Readying himself to pick up the unconscious and severely injured man, Chin had nearly forgotten until the Hollow shrieked madly. "…oh nuts…" he breathed out, "…sorry Renji, you're just going to have to hold on a bit more…" A second shriek caught his attention, and before he realized it, the masked beast had begun to disintegrate before him._

_Two girls landed just in front of him, one small and blue haired wearing a pair of glasses while the other was raven haired and darkly clothed with a Zanpakuto in her hand. "Hey Chin." The taller of the two said casually. _

"_Hey kid" Chin greeted her back. "Took you long enough…could've sworn you were a lot better in Soul Society…"_

"_Yeah, well, you know…" An explosion of dust caught them off guard, and they blinked in surprise as the small blue haired girl had appeared in front of them. "…Setsuko…?"_

"_A chair would've hit you if I hadn't shot it first." A second explosion sang out, coating the three in dust._

"_Uh huh…" Aiko grumbled, "…and what was that for?" As usual, the small girl paid no attention to her, but only looked forward toward the sudden burst of light. "…no way…?" She gasped in disbelief._

_Stepping through the freshly made rubble, his fiery orange hair only served to increase the terrifying visage of the mask placed over his face, and the deathly reach of his aura was extended by his dark clothing and single black sword. His dark and demonic eyes scanned the makeshift battlefield in the theatre until finally resting upon the only other masked swordsman there. "__**You…**__" Ichigo's voice was filled with dread, his pointing finger like a mark of death. "__**…we have some business to settle…**__" _

--

A sharp whistle pierced the silence, caused by the steam shooting out of the small water kettle. "Alright, who wanted some tea?" Orihime chirped, pouring the ready water into waiting cups at the table. She hummed as each cup became filled, and smiled with delight as the oven dinged and the stove top dinner bubbled. As each of the adults thanked their ever eager hostess for the brew and beverages, light footfalls echoed down the staircase, until Tatsuki entered the kitchen as well.

"Coffee please, Orihime…" she sighed. "Could you make it black?"

"Coming right up, Tatsuki!" the orange haired woman happily responded, while the orange skinned man continued to bottle feed the infant in his arms. "Do you want some too, honey?"

From her spot in the living room, the adults' surprisingly light conversation took Emiko off guard. To be able to see that kind of violence, and even take part in it and somehow be able to joke around like they were now…she just couldn't fathom it. They had planned to meet later on today, the adults that is, though obviously somewhere where the kids wouldn't be endangered and would be guaranteed their safety.

Aiko had already left with Dr. Kurosaki, while Setsuko sat on the couch across from her while reading her current weekly novel. Emiko meanwhile, sat deep on the couch and contemplated on her day, the shock of it all just beginning to wear off now...

From where she sat at the table, Tatsuki glanced at the mirror that hung in the living room. In its reflection sat a confused, mentally shocked girl; her Emiko. It was decided. Tatsuki _had _to tell her. She placed the cup of coffee back on the table, and slowly pushed back the chair as she stood up to walk over to-"Guys…" a voice echoed throughout the house. A rapid and loud succession of thumps sang out against the wooden staircase as a young man jogged into the kitchen. He panted slightly, but made sure that no one but the three adults was present. "…he's awake…"

* * *

**-- OC Trivia Corner**!!! -- (part 4)

**Hisashi** is a mysterious old man who, along with Ping, kidnapped Aiko Kurosaki in a failed attempt to recruit Ichigo to join the _Ataenushi no Ouju_. Not much is known about him, except for the fact that he is one of the few Shinigami who managed to find their relative from life. His name? Kazuhiro.Surprisingly strong despite his looks, at first glance he looks similar to the captain of Squad 1, Yamamato-Genryusai, although his beard is far from its length. He had applied for officership, although it is unclear exactly what rank he held.

His Zanpakuto's name is Raidentetsuya, as its main attacks are electricity based in its Shikai form, which is a scythe formed from connecting his blade and scabbard together. Though not mastered yet, its Bankai form allows control of the weather

**Height: **186 cm**  
**

**Likes: **Haiku, tea ceremony, classic literature

**Dislikes: **insolence, Shinigami, Hollows, childishness

**Birthday: **December 8

**Misc: **Was initially recruited into Squad five, then transferred to Squad three**  
**


	14. Might be back to normal

His head throbbed and felt like total hell whenever he tried to move.

_Yeah…I'm definitely still alive…_

Renji mused to himself. From the few seconds he managed to move his sore arms about, there were no traces of scarring anywhere on his body, meaning that either someone from Squad Four had managed to arrive, or Orihime did her magic on him while still unconscious.

He groaned as he tried to sit up, but a gentle hand pushed him back downwards, and alerted Renji to someone else being in the room as well. Drowsily he opened his eyes, and he sharply hissed at the bright mix of sunlight from the open window shades and artificial florescent light from the ceiling. "Shh, you shouldn't be moving just yet, son…"

_That was a man's voice…_ Renji thought, and with blurry eyes he saw a silhouette of a well dressed man kneeling next to his mat. "K-Kazu-"

"Yup, it's me…" the old man said with an animated—but hushed—voice. "…But try not to speak; you're still sore from that fight, aren't you?" Renji's eyes began to focus, and the room around him began to take shape. Nodding while pinching his nose bridge, in a slight attempt to quell his throbbing head, Renji blinked again to see the smirking old man's face looking down at him. "Now, now, I don't have much time to explain…" he continued in a rushed tone. Placing a hand over Renji's eyes, he slowly pushed the bedridden man onto his back again. "Just sleep, and get well as soon as possible…" Kazuhiro's voice echoed in the corners of Renji's mind.

…_try to return to Sereitei once you recover, Renji…you have some business to attend there…_

"Boy, I needed that bathroom break…" Chin proudly announced upon entering the room. Taking no mind to the open bedroom door, he was however, taken back by the now stirring red haired man in the middle of the room. "Oh wow, Vice Captain Abarai?" Stuttering what to do, he realized the best course of action was to rush to tell the others. "Wait right here, Renji...I mean, _Vice Captain_ Renji…I'll just get everyone up here!"

Groaning to consciousness, Renji blinked his heavy eyelids while staring up to the ceiling. _Huh…_ was what he believed was his first thought, casually taking in the feeling of déjà vu. "Zabimaru…you there?" He breathed disappointedly at the lack of response, meaning that his Zanpakuto had to be in a different room. "Weird…could've sworn that I sensed you right here…"

A horde of thumping up the stairs stole his attention, just as a mess of people came into view at the open doorway. "Hey Renji, are you alright?" Orihime was the first to chirp and enter, closely followed by the other adults and the girls.

"How are you?" Uryuu asked seriously. With infant cradled in his left hand, he checked over the red haired man's symptoms by just looking at him, and confirmed Renji's pulse using his right. "Your vitals are all good…but it would be best if you rested for a bit more…"

"No…" Renji groaned as he sat up, "…thanks, but I think I've done enough lying around for a while…"

"Are you sure?" Emiko asked with concern, "Wouldn't you want to stay for a bit? I mean, until Doctor Ishida is completely sure with your condition, of course…" Inside, Renji was ecstatic at the prospect of the young girl's proposal, although it all depended on the consent of her mother, of course. With a strange subtlety, the red haired man glanced at Tatsuki for the first time in a while, which without his own knowledge was the last in a series of glances from the rest currently in the room—excluding the infant, of course.

"Why not…" Tatsuki hesitantly buckled to the pressure, whether or not she truly thought she felt a slight queasiness to the idea. "As long as you're okay with this, Emiko, then I guess I don't really have a choice…" she easily feigned a lack of reluctance on her part, and knew full well the position that Orihime and Uryuu had on the man's stay in their house without needing to ask. The other man, however… "Well, I guess all that leaves is you, Chin." She more than eagerly changed the subject, "Do you have a place to stay?"

"Well, I have a few ideas in mind, Ms. Arisawa." He answered in an instant, "Although I have some business to attend to with Ichigo, I guess I'll just be staying with Mr. Urahara at the shop."

"So, that settles what I was concerned about." Uryuu happily spoke up. Readjusting the infant's position in his arms, the doctor made his way back to the door. "If you'll excuse me." He said while bowing his head, "come on, we have some thing to clean up downstairs." Taking the hint, Chin followed behind the Quincy Doctor, and the two girls closely followed him as well. Only three people were left in the room now, though that quickly changed when Uryuu popped back in, and gently tugged on—or perhaps _dragged_ was the better word— his wife to follow him as well.

"Wait Uryu, I want to see them g-" was all she managed to say before the guestroom door closed with a click. With the curious orange haired woman out of the room, only two people remained in the room; Renji and Tatsuki. It didn't take long for them to realize that was what Uryuu had planned all along, but it was already too late by the time Tatsuki caught wind of something suspicious radiating from that bespectacled man.

_Damn you, four-eyes…when I get my hands on you… _she thought, but the growl that came from the man clearing his throat soon took her attention instead, "I guess you haven't…told her, huh?" Renji said openly, without a second thought to his words. "It's okay…I think you did the right thing…" he added, stopping Tatsuki from responding. What he could not interrupt however, was a quick smack to the back of his head.

"It _isn't _the right thing, you dumbass…" she growled, crossing her arms in front of the confused red head. "Do you know how much it hurts to not know your own father?" Renji, although his head still throbbed, took note to the woman's sudden change in tone. "Izumi was a great dad to Emiko, but…" her voice softened, and her eyes glanced away from him and towards an arbitrary wall.

"Something bad happen?" Renji asked warily, to which Tatuski gave off a long and drawn out sigh. It was a sigh that said '_of course something happened, you oblivious moron and I really don't want to explain it again…' _"You don't have to say anything about it…I shouldn't have asked…" Renji said apologetically, to which Tatsuki murmured her "no's" and "don't worry's" with a similar tone of voice. "Seriously, it wasn't my place to ask, I mea-"

"Will you just let me _explain_, already!?" Tatsuki urged, prompting an immediate end to their bickering. "Geez…" she breathed out with irritation, though not being able to suppress a slight grin, "you're just as stubborn as I remembered…" her lively face returned to one that was solemn, her grin melted away and the slight sparkle in her eyes changed back to a slightly blurry hue as it was when she just entered the room. "When we first met, Izumi was so charming and nice, and wanted to keep seeing me despite finding out about Emiko."

She sighed again, and wrapped her arms around her legs, which were pressed against her chest as she sat on the floor. "When he proposed, I…was just _so _happy that I could be a regular mother, of a regular family, but unfortunately, Izumi was thinking along the same lines…" Tatsuki softly pressed her teeth against her bottom lip as she continued her story, "After a while, he didn't like that I fought for a living, and he started to say that all he really wanted was a house wife…long story short, we had a major argument and he left without a second thought…" she scoffed at the memory, and slowly shook her head back and forth in disbelief.

"I'm sorry…" Renji and Tatsuki both knew that it wasn't his fault, but it was obvious that he was at least trying to comfort her. "…it sucks how you're always attracted to losers and jerks…" Although it seemed this started an awkward silence, she suddenly snorted loudly, and then laughed while failing at holding it in.

"Uh, thanks…" she said after her laughing died down a bit, and she gently wiped small tears from under her eyes. "…thanks…" she sighed again, although it was more out of relief this time. Her warm smile sent shivers down Renji's sore spine, but the sudden creak of the door sent Goosebumps down both of their skins. With one final creak, the hinges could no longer take the force placed on the doorframe, and gave in and broke, sending the door crashing down to the floor. More surprising however, was the group of screams of the people now lying on top of the broken door. "What the heck!?"

"Oh…uh…" Orihime was the first to speak out. Perhaps because she was on top of the pile—Uryuu and Chin under her, while the two girls (the infant cradled possessively in Setsuko's arms) looked in wonder as they explored the ruckus of the hallway from their shared room. Thinking fast, Orihime quickly glanced downwards to the two under her in an effort to change the subject, "So Chin, uh…how was Ichigo and Rukia?"

"..."

* * *

**-- OC Trivia Corner**!!! -- (part 5)

**Emiko Arisawa **is a single child, and quite mature for her age. With limited tutelage from her mother, Tatsuki, Emiko had managed to reach the rank of brown belt by the age of nine. She is part of the school drama club and was elected by a large margin in her class to take the leading role of the school play, of which she was originally hesitant to try out for. Emiko has been quite spiritually aware for as long as she could remember, and is even fond of Kon's wacky and quirksome personality. Her parents had just recently divorced, the settlement being that Tatsuki could retain full custody while her "father" gained all material assets. She feels a strange attachment to Renji, and senses that his personality is quite endearing, almost father-like.

**Height: **160 cm

**Likes: **Drama club, Aiko, Setsuko, Kon, martial arts

**Dislikes: **bullies, mean people, tooth drills, dentist visits

**Birthday: **September 1

**Favorite Beverage: ** mint flavored Boba Tea

--

**Kon: **Of the three girls, she's the nicest! Why can't she adopt me, huh!?


	15. Change in ebb and flow

**Warning:** This chapter contains both hardcore bloody smackdowns _and_ boring talky explanations...please enjoy the fic...

For a better understanding please read "_Tide_" and "_My Life as a Teenaged Shinigami_"

* * *

-Part (a)-

-

"…**we have some business to settle…**"

His deathly voice groaned from behind his mask, his glare seemed to suck all the happiness and warmth from whoever even dared to glance towards him. Standing before his enemy in the wreckage of the theatre, the Hollowfied Ichigo walked casually toward the broken wooden stage ahead of him. His grip on the blackened sword was tight; his breathing increased as he came closer and closer to the masked Vizard that turned to face him. The scent of blood filled the air. It was thicker than the dust of the improvised battlefield and much more immediate to sense when Ichigo first arrived at the school. It didn't take too long to learn whose blood it was that he smelled, as it belonged to the same man whose spirit pressure had drastically dropped.

"…**Uryuu, grab Tatsuki….and get out of here and as far away as possible..." **Ichigo said without even looking towards his two friends. He felt their hesitation, but at the same time he didn't want to lose track of the man standing in front of him. "**…Chin will take care of the girls so don't worry about leaving them in any danger…**" he tried to reassure them. Although confident in his skills, his worries rested on his own senses—despite knowing that there were eight people in the theatre using his own eyes, he could only sense seven of them; those seven belonging to Aiko, Uryuu, Tatsuki, Emiko, Chin, Setsuko and a dying Renji—it was as if the man right before him didn't even have Spirit Pressure at all.

With a loud sigh, Uryuu agreed with his Shinigami friend's unspoken assessment. There was no need to leave any collateral damage in a fight with whom Ichigo had no qualms at all of killing. He also knew who this second masked man had to be for Ichigo to issue such a request, although he had no idea beforehand that he was a Vizard. But his top priority was Renji though, _that_ he was sure of. Beside him, Tatsuki trembled at the heavy force pushing down on her shoulders, and keenly took her outside before reappearing in the theatre once again. On stage left, Uryuu saw the young Shinigami take the two girls and disappeared to where he had dropped off Tatsuki; an unconscious Ururu carried in his arms as well. Taking this chance, the bespectacled doctor speedily moved to the stage where he prepared to grab onto the heavily bleeding Renji.

A sudden noise caught his attention, forcing Uryuu to instinctively ready his Quincy cross. Rather than a sneak attack, a shivering young woman finally crumpled to the floor, as if forced down by a tremendous weight. She gasped out for air, not caring at all that some saliva had escaped her mouth as she panted and groaned against the unseen force. _It must be because of Ichigo and the other one…_ Uryuu thought, immediately lowering his arm but not his guard. She continuously strained to push herself off the wooden stage, but to no avail; she was close to passing out just as Uryuu caught her, Renji carried as carefully as possible in his other arm.

"_Hey, hurry up Uryuu, stop being an idiot and get out of here with Renji, already!!" _he half expected the orange haired Shinigami to call out from behind him, but no such luck. He was deathly serious about this battle; this was the man who kidnapped Aiko.

--

It took longer than he wanted, but Uryuu finally took off. Not only was Ichigo growing anxious for anyone else to be caught in the crossfire, somewhere deep inside of him, he was growing impatient of having to wait…

"Finally, eh!?" the second masked man called out, "Took them a while to clear out of here….geez!!" Sliding back his mask to scratch his nose, Ping smiled wildly at the sight of Ichigo. "So…" he spoke eagerly. Tilting his head to one side, Ping flashed his teeth before tipping his mask back down with his sword. "**…**_**let's dance…**_" His voice suddenly turned demonic, as with a blur the masked man reappeared just inches to Ichigo's left. It was easy to dodge the blade, and then the following slash that flew towards him from behind.

_He's pretty fast…_ Ichigo had to admit, as he moved to speed up and overtake his enemy. The strange feeling started to nag at him again, as with every readable attack missed him, Ichigo came to realize that there was no Spirit Pressure behind the swings—no—there was nothing to feel out to find out the Vizard's presence. _It's as if he's not even here…_ It was easy to see that he was being played with, not take seriously. A simple flick of his wrist sliced through soft ankle tendons, essentially putting an end to Ping's movement. He grunted with pain as he landed on his other foot, keeping pressure off his right as blood sopped over his shoes.

"_Damn it…_" he cursed under his breath, clenching his teeth tightly as not to cry out from the burning agony that sang through his muscles. Despite all of the pain, Ping couldn't help but smile and chuckle wearily at his predicament. "Feels good to get some closure, huh?" A sharp pain burned through his left foot—a black blade impaled straight through—caused him to shudder in breathless grief. As the Zanpakuto retracted again through his skin, Ping gasped out and had no choice but to fall backwards to the ground. Ichigo had appeared right in front of him, and had immobilized him for sure now.

"…**where's Kazuhiro…?**" was all Ichigo asked, pointing his blood soaked sword-tip directly at the Vizard pathetically lying down on the ground below him.

"_**Make me…**_" Ping rebelliously answered, "_**…if it weren't for my mask right now, I'd spit on your stupid looking f-**_" with a single smash with his hilt, Ichigo cracked and shattered much of Ping's mask, revealing much of the injured man's Hollowfied eyes and bloodied face. His crazed smile was revealed as well, serving its purpose to anger the orange haired Vizard. "…must be great to finally…be able to do this, huh, hotshot?" Ping coughed out.

"**I don't care…now tell me what I want to know…**" Ichigo said sternly, returning the sword-point towards Ping. Of course, he simply laughed at the intimidating stature and actions of Ichigo, even going so far as to sit himself up and not caring about the sword pointed directly at him. He crawled as far as he could, until finally propping himself against a weakened part of the stage. "**…I've had enough!**" Ichigo growled angrily, and finally impaled the bleeding man, keeping the blade inside. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have the desired effect.

"…You just play the…same old stuff, huh?" Ping groaned with a coughing laugh. "You…no matter how much stronger than me you are, you just don't get it…" He coughed again, as he weakly gripped on the sword that had pierced him, "…I have no idea where Kazuhiro is…but _you_…" His other arm trembling and bloody, he wiped a stream of blood from his brow. "You're as much as a pawn to him as I was…." He cracked a weaker smile now, and leaned his head against the stage. "…who was it that told you where to find me in the first place, hmmm…?" Ichigo's brows furrowed in thought, but his attention was brought back to Ping, cheekily laughing once again. "I…can't believe you forced me to pull out my trump card already, Ichigo…" Ping wheezed. Instinctively, Ichigo thrust his blade toward the disabled man, but it was grabbed barehanded, and stabbed into his shoulder rather than any vital organs. "Haunt…them_…_" Ping's voice echoed through the pain, "…_Kampekiyasu_…"

-- -- --

-Part (b)-

-

"Well, it's definitely _his_ handiwork…" the blonde man sighed. Amongst the many rare occasions that he took off his white and green striped hat, this was one of them. "Where did you say he found it?" he waved some cool wind towards his face using a fold-up paper fan, bringing a much needed breeze.

"Mr. Ogiue had dropped it off along with Ururu, Kisuke." A deep voice responded. Sitting next to the blond man, the large bespectacled man dwarfed the other in size, but it was obvious as to who respected who. "He said he would return soon after checking up on the others." His eyes glanced over the figure on the floor, aware that this was one of the few things that the man hadn't opened up about his past. "Is it one of your designs?" he tried to ask casually.

"This?" Kisuke Urahara asked back while replacing his hat, "No, but it _is _based on a concept of mine—the Untraceable Gigai, in fact."

"Like the one you had hid the hougyoku in? Hadn't you given that to Mrs. Kurosaki to use?" Tessai asked more for confirmation rather than knowledge.

"Yes." He responded, "But you see, this isn't a gigai at all." Tessai gawked at the statement and once again glanced at the body lying unconscious on the floor. When she had first arrived, her breathing was normal, her vitals all stable. But it soon became apparent that there was something wrong when her health began to falter. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, and her skin was pale and flushed—signs of a fever. However, there was no high temperature to speak of at all. Wordlessly, Urahara took hold of his Zanpakuto, Benihime, although still in its camouflaged form and aimed the flat bottom of the cane towards the woman. With a light thrust, the cane bluntly hit her forehead, causing her to shoot up in surprise.

Genuinely taken back by the sudden action, Tessai watched in amazement as the woman's eyes shot open and she gasped with terror. She attempted to cough but was unable to, as if something were caught in her throat. With a loud and hard slap to her back from Urahara, the woman was finally able to cough out what was lodged in her throat and constricting her air flow. Her breathing hoarse, she attempted to slow it to a calm pace by taking huge and deep breaths. She turned toward her savior, but before she could ask anything at all, a sudden flash and puff of smoke interrupted her and in result sent her back to unconsciousness.

Admiring his employer's deducing, Tessai watched as Urahara gently laid the woman to rest again, her health somehow brought back to nominal levels. A soft patter sang poetically on the mat as Urahara then walked across the room to where the object had been ejected, leading towards a small green pill—a gikongan.

"When I was the President of the Shinigami Research Institute, there was a young man whom I thought could be my successor." Urahara said without being asked, "He was quite talented, and had in fact assisted me with quite a few of my inventions, mainly with Gigai technology." He walked to a table and placed the small pill onto it, but continued standing, facing the wall. "It was from the call to destroy the Kaizo Konpaku that he devised a specialized battle gigai just for them. Although the order still stood, he continued with a prototype, one very similar to that woman over there."

"But she was alive." Tessai remarked about the unconscious woman, "She wasn't a gigai at all!"

"It's called the _Living Gigai _technique." Urahara finally spoke, quickly silencing Tessai. "Gigai are made up of spirit particles, of which although restrict the power of a Shinigami or gikongan, are traceable by Sereitei. It was with the Untraceable gigai that I had changed the entire process, rendering it impossible to track by any means. Of course, it drained the reiatsu of the wearer, so long that it renders them humanlike in ability, making it the best shell for the Hougyuku." Turning to face Tessai, the shadow cast by his hat covered any view to his solemn glance at the woman. "Sereitei banished me for this, which I had planned to do in the first place because of the Hogyuku's unfortunate indestructibility. There was another way, however, to be able to be untraceable by Sereitei, which the young man had spearheaded in order to curb my banishment. It seems however that not only had he finally perfected it, but he was probably banished as well."

"This man, used people as gigai?" Tessai grimaced at the prospect. A slight chill ran down his spine at the mere thought of it.

"A human body is unable to sustain two entities at once, leading to an eventual breakdown of the body itself if neither entity could gain complete control of it. So, it was required to destroy the host entity or soul before taking control of the body itself." Urahara explained matter-of-factly. "In this way, a Shinigami could retain all of his abilities and strength, yet still completely invisible to both Sereitei as well as individual detection."

_So this woman did not destroy the original soul…_ Tessai thought carefully _…which would explain her sudden drop in health… _"Knowing his motives, it would be best that we find Kazuhiro as quickly as possible, before he does anything too rash…" Urahara spoke again.

"Hmmm? But you said that this technique makes impossible to track…" Tessai, now confused by the man's contradiction, scratched his scalp slightly.

"Yeah…but I think I'm a _bit_ more innovative than Sereitei…" Urahara mused with a grin, and tapped his head with his index finger as if pointing towards his brain. "It shouldn't be too much of a problem to find him." The door to the room slid open slowly, as three figures softly entered the room. Each of the three smirking with confidence; a statuesque man of perhaps the age of thirty stood on the left, a twenty-something year old red haired man dressed in a zipper mask to the right, and a young blonde teenaged girl stood in the middle.

"We're always happy to be of service, Mr. Urahara…" the statuesque man bowed while tipping his tall top hat, his monocle gleaming from the light on the ceiling.

"But first things first…" the teenaged blonde placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow to all that she and the others had heard so far, "What _exactly _is going on here?"

-- --

The seemingly disabled man disappeared in a fog, leaving only Ichigo present in the embattled theatre wreckage. "Damn it!!" He yelled in self fury, his white mask dispersing without a single thought.

_**It was his Zanpakuto… **_a deep voice echoed with Ichigo's mind. _**…it's best now that you focus on recuperating, Ichigo, before things get too out of hand again…**_

"Yeah, I guess…" the orange haired man sighed in defeat. "We better check on Renji and Zabimaru…" he said to the similarly dark clothed man next to him. "…let's go, Zangetsu…"

* * *

Author's notes: And so, a special two part fic for y'all! At first I wanted to keep from showing the fight between Ichigo and Ping, but I just couldn't help it...the story definitely needed some ass-kickery! But I digress, and remember that the fight took place before last chapter, as I just wanted to share it with everyone. Part (b) is technically the new chapter, and with the new characters introduced, things are about to get pretty interesting, ne?

**_...legalities..._ **All characters have been placed in a Post-Aizen AU within the series "Bleach" which was created by Tite Kubo

* * *


	16. Beauty of this cold Substance

Inspired by the newest update of OaOa

(Convoluted plots and confusing villain motivations will return in the next chapter)

* * *

Surely, the clash of their blades, the elegance of their form, could only be described as pure poetry; 

Her faint steps were like the fine strokes of a brush on dark canvas, writing gentle and soothing prose with ivory snow-white ink.

His advances were meticulous; practiced to a fault and effortless to the smallest degree.

Another song of blades crashing against each other sent chills to the audience watching their performance, as snowflakes fluttered through the air and shone with ephemeral light as though the moon was high in the sky-blue ceiling above them.

Within a blink of an eye, they appeared in another area, and then to another.

"W-wow…" Aiko watched her parents with amazement. The rapidly crunching snow however, alerted her senses to parry the strike aimed at her in quick fashion.

"C'mon kid, pay attention!" Similarly dressed like her, the messy haired Chin took no pause in pursuing his evading opponent. The snow made shunpos slightly difficult to execute, but his feet were quickly accustoming to the limited degree of traction.

Aiko's movements in this environment however were more than suited for the powdery substance, as she easily outmaneuvered and led the Shinigami pursuing her around in circles. Though strange as it was, Aiko found the chasing fun. Of course, smirking while holding out her Zanpakuto, she gracefully struck at the ground in front of her, creating a sheet of ice for Chin to slip and fall on. She couldn't wait to laugh at the ridiculous face she imagined he would make.

To her credit, the ice had indeed taken him off guard, as he stepped onto the ice, he moved to strike his own blade into the clear flat surface, to which his Zanpakuto absorbed into the frozen area and slithered and stretched into a path of sand to which he could easily maneuver on.

"What? That's cheating!" Aiko's face contorted with surprise, as Chin reached behind him and the sand reformed into his sword once more.

"Oh really? You want a do-over then?" Chin smirked back, relishing the ridiculous face that she gave off in using his Zanpakuto. Without stabbing into the ground, he created a small foot shaped patch of sand for him to lunge off of, immediately closing the gap between the two.

His blade came close to her cheek, the sandy quality began to make her eyes water slightly and nose to tickle profusely…

Before he knew it, Chin's decisive win quickly turned into a near-victory, as his face planted deep into the snow. Unbeknownst to even Aiko herself, her sneeze had frozen his foot into place, although she could not bask in her surprise triumph, as she tripped over backwards into a snow bank.

"Looks like it's a tie…_again_…" one of the audience members commented with a smug look on his face. Winter's cool touch did not reach where the three of them sat; each of them perched atop a stool sized boulder of their own. "Both Rukia and Aiko's Zanpakutos have such astounding effects, don't you think?" the shadowy eyed, bucket-hat wearing blond man observed the scenery just ahead of them.

"Yeah, but that doesn't really help me now, does it?" Renji more-or-less complained about the otherwise beautiful view. It was by strange coincidence that several of his wounds had began to act up, despite being treated by Orihime just a week ago. Although he didn't make any sly references to it, Renji wouldn't put it past Kisuke Urahara from being a prime suspect in the matter.

Because of his "injuries", the red haired Vice-Captain was forced to recuperate. "Here you go…" the raven haired woman offered him a thermos. Without saying anything else, she wrapped her Moulin red scarf a bit tighter around her neck, as a slight cloud exited her mouth when she exhaled.

"Amazing!" dressed in comfortably warm clothing, Emiko stood astonished at the snowy landscape just beyond the desert setting where the three adults sat about. "To think that something like this was hidden under the candy shop?"

Urahara smirked candidly from her comment, but felt the glare from the Shinigami next to him. Turning his head, Urahara waited for Renji to speak first. "Where's Uryuu…?" the man asked.

"What? Well, he's with his own family, training Setsuko his own Quincy methods." He said with a hint of amusement in his voice, "But, why would you ask for him, when you can have me as your sparring partner, Renji?"

"No thanks…your bankai isn't really suited for sparring…" Renji diplomatically backed away from the question. He had enough memory of the banished Shinigami's bankai as it was.

Smiling at his quick retreat, Urahara looked back toward the snowy field with a heavy heart. The two girls, Ururu and Emiko cautiously made their way toward the snow arena, where there was no fighting up ahead. Aiko Kurosaki and Ping Ogiue, who had managed to regain their senses, were back to their playful sparring, while Rukia and Ichigo continued their lethal ballet.

The white and black of the couple's vestments contrasted so vividly and strikingly to everyone's eyes. _Shirayuki and Zangetsu…Yukiko and Tamotsu…they look like they're having fun…_The sound of laughter echoed from the two younger Shinigami, as a snowball flew towards one another in the distance.

_But despite this fun scenario_, he wondered, _how long will it be, until Sereitei or Kazuhiro make their move?_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I had something else in mind for this chapter, but after reading RadiatBeam's take on (fannon spoiler alert!!!) Rukia's bankai, I quickly wrote this up!

I like it

_**...legalities...**_

I don't own Tite Kubo_  
_


	17. And then there were two

**Typewriterman:** Thanksgiving draws near, and since I doubt I'll be able to upload this at any other time (too many exams, don't-cha-know?) I guess I'll do it now!

* * *

**.Chapter 17.**

It was a miracle that he managed to escape when he could. The fight those few weeks ago had severely taxed him heavily. For days and weeks Ping stumbled about and rested whenever he could. Panting deep breaths, he opened his eyes after what seemed to be a whole lifetime and squinted at the dawn of light creeping over the building above him and into the dark and dank alleyway he had crawled into. He clutched his shoulder again from the slightest bit of pain and cursed at how weak he was.

_My…Zanpakuto…_ he murmured, damning himself for being especially weak to rely on such a power again. He glanced downwards into a dirty puddle and winced dejectedly at the sullen and beaten figure of the reflection that looked back at him. Grinding his teeth tightly, Ping attempted to bring himself back to his feet using the sheathed sword at his side as a makeshift cane.

Without warning, a heavy blow landed against his jaw, and nearly knocked unconscious by the hit, Ping flew and thumped into a pile of garbage. The injured and pitiful man attempted to save his injured shoulder from hitting the ground, by rolling in midair to prevent further anguish to his old wounds. Metal garbage cans crumpled as glass shattered and rang out from several bottles rolling away from the impact zone.

Groaning softly and caressing his bruised face with a trembling hand, Ping looked up groggily and gasped. A second mighty blow hit his stomach now, leaving him defenseless and easy to overpower by the large hand that grabbed his ripped collar. Shoving him hard against the brick wall, Ping lost the wind from his lungs and struggled uselessly as his feet dangled above the ground. In front of him, the bearded and gruesomely large man grinned at the pitiful and meek looking Vizard in his grasp.

"_You…bastard…_" Ping attempted to breath out, his smaller more human sized hands frantically tried to loosen the giant's grip on his throat but to no avail. Then, with a cruel smile on the large man's face, he was tossed across the alleyway like a rag doll caught in a torrent of wind, only to slam hard against another wall. Again grabbed by the neck, Ping was dragged up against the wall to be brought face to face with his attacker once more. Gasping out for breath, a small speckle of blood escaped his mouth, and landed on the large man's leather coat. Insulted for such a crime, the large man growled demonically and beast-like, and cocked his hand back to finish-

"-That's enough, Mikio…" a stern yet soft voice commanded the beast of a man. There was no need to elaborate or repeat the instruction. The large man known as Mikio had immediately dropped his ready arm, and in fact loosened his grip of the other to allow the battered and bruised Ping to fall into a pile of cardboard boxes. Coughing again through his sore throat and stinging ribs, a soft set of clacks approached him. He could only open up his left eye, as his right had swelled from the pummeling and his body trembled as the second man crouched down from his standing position to look at him at eye level.

"Nice to see you, Ping…what have you been up to?" the man's voice asked warmly. Despite the dulcet tone in his greeting, it sent shivers up the injured man's spine. His brown suit and well worn tie had become the man, starkly different from the black robes and white haori the elder gentleman had worn when they first met. The brown fedora was taken in the man's hands to allow better view of his face; wrinkled with age and experience, despite the much more youthful look in his amber eyes. "I'm surprised that you decided to keep her around…" he said distractedly. In his other hand was the sheathed sword Ping had earlier, his Zanpakuto. "But I doubt you're going to need it anymore, huh?"

"…" Ping attempted to respond, but his throat was too injured and bloody.

"Well, there's only one thing left…"

"_I…I'll never tell you…where…Suzume…is…Kazuhiro_" Ping hoarsely wheezed out. His lip quivered involuntarily as blood mixed with his saliva.

"Oh no…" Kazuhiro chuckled, "…that's very gentlemanly of you, but there won't be any need for that." His smile grew wider at the sight of Ping's paler complexion. "She's exactly where I want her to be, and with you here, there are no wildcards for me to worry about." Unsheathing the sword in his hand, the blade rose into the air, the empty slash flew downwards.

Red splashed through its target.

* * *

**Typewriterman (again):** Well, this chapter is short and sweet. (Just like a sugar-covered midget!!) ... (sorry, I mean _little person!_) 

**_...legalities..._**

Based in a post-Aizen AU where Rukia and Ichigo got...it...**_on!!!_**


	18. The sparrow that woke up a lion

(Reviews will be used for turkey stuffing)

* * *

It was dark all around. Everything was so alien. Where had everyone gone? 

There he was, strapped tightly to the operating table. His arms and legs bound, the bright halogen spotlight aimed and hovered over him, illuminating every action he made. Daunting eyes watched him squirm, watched him struggle to free himself, but did nothing to aid his escape from this terrifying ordeal. Screams and pleading did nothing to change their apathetic glares into sympathetic ones. He was merely a test subject to them; any remorse in their actions, or thought of friendship was thrown out of the window. If he had pores, he would be sweating bullets right about now. If he had a digestion system, he would have…well…you know…

"P-please…I'm begging you…" he attempted to reach their humanity again, hoping that he could bring them back to their senses. "What about all of the good times we had…? The laughs and smiles we shared? I'm your friend, aren't I?" Several of them looked at each other suddenly. Taking a deep breath, his hopes were dashed as their actions were sped up two fold. "HEY!! What's the big idea, you JERKS!!?" Squeaking again as he struggled against his restrictions, the lion plushy growled and relented to his instincts; his futile attempt to gnaw off his cotton-stuffed arm was countered with a flick against his button nose. "OW!" he yelped against the relentless attack.

"Oh, give it a rest, you washed up chew toy…" one voice groaned. "Can't you just stop whining already? This is probably going to be the _only _time when you're actually useful, you know…" arching an eyebrow with the utmost confidence radiating from her crisp blue eyes, the young teenage-looking girl brushed a hand through her blonde hair, which draped just over her shoulders. Wearing a light pink v-neck sweater over a purple blouse, she finally rested her hands on her hips, which was dressed in the cloth of a knee-length matching skirt. "You really should've understood that by now."

"Just because I can't teleport, or have crazy _hallucination _powers doesn't mean I'm useless!" the plush screamed back. If it weren't for the leg and arm cuffs, it definitely would have gone flying off the table to attack her. "I'm here on the home front, keeping a watch on the kids and making sure that help gets to where it needs to go! That's a _lot _more than _you _can ever say you've done, you hussy!"

"Hus-_hussy_!?" A vein quickly popped out of the blonde girl's forehead, and she lunged to tear apart the restricted Kon. "Why you little…" she herself growled out angrily and in futility, as the two larger gentlemen easily held Ririn back from attacking the lion plushy. "When I get my hands…on you…l-let me at him!!" she demanded.

"Please, Ririn, try to keep calm…" dressed in a snazzy suit and wearing one large circular monocle piece over his right eye, one of the gentlemen chuckled nervously over the present argument. "…don't make Nova send you away!" His purple top hat tipped slightly on his head, messing up the blonde and black locks of hair that he had so painstakingly "permed" for his appearance.

"…" the gigai clad mod-soul named Nova kept silent. Simply restraining one of the girl's arms took two of his, keeping the red-haired gentleman from being able to zip up his mask in a stressful situation like this. His furry leather jacket was getting quite ruffled from Ririn's crazed attempt to draw cotton.

"You're _lucky _that they tied me up!" Kon continued to heckle her, "Or I'd have…"

"Oh yeah!? Well…"

"Bring it on,_ sister_…!"

"Now, now, everyone; no need to get so hasty!" Walking into the room with a wide smile on his face, the green and white stripped hat wearing man finally made an appearance after being so late. A black shihakusho was loosely draped over top his dark green kimono as he approached the four mod-souls, waving a single paper fan as he got closer. Following closely behind him, a much larger—and very muscular—man wearing a small pair of rectangular framed glasses and an apron over a white short sleeved shirt carried a single velvet pillow. As large and intimidating as the mustached man was, it was a bit of a ridiculous sight to see him handle such a small thing.

The squabble ended as quickly as it started; the three gigai wearing mod-souls stepped back and lowered their heads over the fact of embarrassing themselves in front of their creator. Kon however, wasn't quite as reclined to settle the argument. "Yeah, that's right! I win!" he snickered with the grace of a schoolyard bully, "I-" a single wooden frame smacked against his head, eliciting yet another howl from the lion plush.

"Now then, shall we begin the procedure?" Urahara, ignoring Kon's pained cry, reopened the wooden frame of his paper fan as the giant named Tessai arrived while still holding the pillow. Placed upon it, a single round green orb of a gikongan sat in the middle.

"But, wait…." Kon whined out again, "Why the heck does it have to be _me_!?"

"Well…" closing his fan once again, Kisuke Urahara put on a thoughtful face as he tilted his head in thought. Despite all of this, the green bucket-hat stuffed over his blond hair shadowed his eyes, retaining the look of a mischievous deviant. "I can't test any of the other mod-souls, since we need their skills to track down the main culprit…" At this, Ririn stuck her tongue out at Kon, who frowned and returned the favor with the red piece of cloth in his mouth, "…and testing on a human is just out of the question…"

"Oh, so you're saying that testing on animals is just dandy to you!?" Kon exclaimed, sounding somewhat appalled by Urahara's explanation. "So what about building another gigai? Or just get some _other_ stuffed doll?"

"We tried that too…" the man countered the argument, "but it seems that with the way it was engineered, this particular mod-soul can only be placed into living people…but as I said before, that's out of the question." Tessai, who suddenly appeared next to Urahara, wordlessly produced a Chappy bunny plush toy in one hand, and the green gikongan pill in the other. Placing the pill into the doll's mouth, he shook his head as the green ball refused to react as any normal gikongan would have. "Although it's a fairly simple matter to reverse, I'm afraid we just don't have the time…" Urahara feigned a sigh as Tessai approached from behind again, presenting the pillow and placing it onto the operating table. "I guess living _things_ will have to do, ne?" suddenly smiling, the blonde man unceremoniously took the pill and shoved it toward Kon's mouth.

"No…way!" Kon tilted his head out of the way, causing Urahara's first attempt to miss. He dodged the next few more times, somehow managing to maneuver just in time even while restrained.

"Hmmm…" the Shinigami-turned-shop-keeper pondered his next move, scratching his chin as he did so. Suddenly, he opened up his mouth in a gasp, and smiled widely. "Oh, Rangiku, so nice of you to join!" he waved beyond Kon's field of vision, causing the plush to strain and turn his head to see.

"The _Valley of the gods _is here!?" Kon exclaimed with wide eyes and an exuberant tone in his voice, "Whe-" his mouth suddenly stuffed with Urahara's hand, he gagged and attempted to cough out. The man's hand though, was quite tightly cupped over Kon's mouth, keeping the mod-soul from spitting out the pill until its movements gradually slowed down to a stop and his eyes closed.

"Hmmm…?" Urahara slowly removed his hand, causing Kon to snap wide awake, and spit the gikongan out. With the skills of a ping pong master however, the blond man smacked the pill back in with the wooden frame of his fan, and watched as the doll choked into unconsciousness once again. Leaning in close, Urahara watched suspiciously if the doll was faking a second time.

Opening its eyes slowly, the lion plush tiredly groaned out as it looked around at its surroundings. With a sharp hiss, it squint its dark button eyes because of the bright overhead light, and immediately turned its glance to the side, staring right back to the blond man in front of it. It blinked several times, not being able to recognize the face at first. "Did it work, then…?" Ririn, curious about the procedure, tilted her head to the side to catch a good view, as the other two mod-souls tried to tip toe over Tessai's large frame.

Seeming to have recognized his face, the lion plush opened its mouth as if to say something. "K-kazu…?" it asked in a drastically different voice, most notably a feminine one. Suddenly, its eyes focused more, now realizing that the blonde man in front was not who it thought it was. "...no…who are you?" the female voice demanded.

"Ah, so _you're_ the mod-soul, hmmm?" he replied in an apathetic tone, grinning over the success of his hypothesis. "So…do _you _know where to find _him_?" Urahara countered her question with his own.

"…?" the lion plush furrowed its eyebrows for a moment, before scowling back at him. "I…have no idea what you're talking about! Now, tell me where I am!" she demanded, straining against the restraints. "Eh?" ceasing its efforts to escape, the possessed doll looked over its limbs, and with wide eyes, shrieked in girlish terror. "W-what happened to my beautiful arms!?" it exclaimed, and it looked downward and shrieked even louder. "What the hell happened to my hot body!?" Devastated by this revelation, the now _'female' _Kon stared at the five people standing around the table, looking for some answers. "Who the hell's the one responsible for putting me into this _dopey _stuffed doll!?"

"Oi, I'll let you know that this body is so eye catching to the ladies, that I have to beat them away with a stick!" a familiar whine of a more masculine—though by how much was quite uncertain—voice that came out of the doll's mouth.

"K-kon…?" Ririn asked, taken by surprise that she heard the other mod-soul's voice.

"What? No way! I'm Suzume!" the female voice shouted out from the doll's mouth, looking quite angry for being mistaken for someone else. "Who would honestly walk around with such a stupid name like that!?"

"It's not my fault!" Kon whined back, "Tell me, don't you think that 'Kai' would've been such a cooler name for me?"

"W-what's going on!?" confused, Cloud holding his head between his hands exclaimed in confusion. Adjusting his monocle, he watched as the doll began to argue with itself.

"Such an annoying chick!" Kon complained to the others, "Where is she, anyway? She better be hot!" swinging his head about, he looked around the operating table in search of the other voice with which he had been arguing with. "Come on, where is she?"

"Are you serious?" Suzume arched the doll's eyebrows upward in sheer disbelief, "Are you honestly that stupid?" Taking a pause from bickering, the doll noticed Urahara's close proximity to it as he looked over with his eyes, merely inches away. "Hey, give me some space, buddy!"

"Yeah, back off! I'm trying to have an argument here!" Kon added, but suddenly gasped upon some realization. "N-no way…" he shuttered breathlessly, as the eyes of the others reflected the sentiment, making it worse for him to deny what was happening to him for much longer. "…"

"Kon, now…calm down…" Cloud tried to raise his hands reassuringly, as Ririn and Cloud watched on with astonishment, and Urahara and Tessai stared observantly.

"Interesting…it seems that the effects are quite different when possessing a doll that already has a mod-soul in it…" the former president of the Shinigami Research Institute commented on the results of his experiment.

"P-p-'_possessed_'!?" Kon finally screamed out, and struggled against his restraints even more and in a more crazed fashion. "Help me! I'm possessed!!" again, he tried to gnaw his arm off in a vain attempt to free himself. "Gah!!" he sobbed out when he realized that his teeth were blunt and useless in cutting anything, "Somebody help me!!"

"Hey, cut it out!" Suzume screamed back, quite irritated by Kon's screaming, "You're _really _starting to piss me off!!"

"Quick! Get a phone book, and call an old priest and a young priest! If they refuse to come, tell them that 'money isn't an object'!!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** In case you don't remember, the crew managed to snatch Suzume's gikongan and were researching it around Chapter 15. Seriously, the questions you guys ask can so easily be answered if you re-read through the story (raising my hit-count)...ignore the parenthetical comment, please! 'Where are the rest of the characters?' and 'Why are we stuck with three Anime-only mod-souls, Kon, an OC, Urahara and Tessai?' you ask? 

Geez...they're all in _RadiantBeam_'s (now completed) story, _**Over and Over again**_, of course!

-BTW, does anyone else have the problem of having to use the [Source tab in order to make things Bold, Italic, or Underlined? It's pretty annoying...

**_...legalities..._**

All characters are based in an post-Aizen AU where Ichigo and Rukia got...it..._**on**_! Which the canon story is created by Tite Kubo

Suzume was created by _Typewriterman_.


	19. End Game pt 1

"So…this is where Captain Urahara set up shop, hmmm…?" an older gentleman asked his larger compatriot. "It doesn't look as good as the one in Karakura Town…" he remarked. "It's too gaudy." Disinterested in the flashing neon sign and glass windows and allowed a view to the closed shop interior, the man sighed at all of the toys and candy on display. Glancing over to the behemoth standing next to him, the older man leaned some of his weight onto his cane, more out of habit than out of necessity. "Mikio…I want you to do a good job here; kill anyone who gets in your way…"

"Really, Ainiki? What happened to bringing that Vizard over to our side?" the large bearded man exclaimed in surprise. "Don't you want revenge and-" he stopped when the smaller man raised his hand, like that of an owner hushing his dog.

"Plans have changed, Mikio…" the older man sighed. Tapping his cane against the street, he somewhat felt satisfied by doing so. "I have had enough games…this ends today…wouldn't you say so as well, Suzume?" Glancing at the group exiting from the candy shop, Kazuhiro smiled over the three's reactions. The blonde girl, despite being the smallest, immediately jumped forward into a defensive posture. The other two men followed through with similar ones soon after. Hanging from a chain, a yellow lion plush swung to and fro in a lifeless manner. "I'm sorry for your loss-"

"Fuck you, Kazuhiro!" the small plush finally yelled out. Baring cloth teeth, the plushy unhinged its chain and jumped down to the street "I know what you did, and I'll never forgive you!"

"Eh? Don't say stuff like that! It's going to get us killed!!" Kon's voice yelled out from the plush as well in a cowardly tone.

"Interesting tactic, Urahara…" Kazuhiro mumbled to himself. "Mikio, ignore them…" he finally said. "Go straight for the source…"

"Sure thing, Ainiki…" the large man grinned. Pumping his arm, he pushed out of his body, revealing a blue skinned monster, covered in bleached bones and a broken mask. "Straight for the source!!" he screamed in happiness as he slammed his fist through the ground.

**END GAME** (Part 1)

The dust began to settle, allowing only faint distinguishable silhouettes to be seen through the now murky underground training cavern. The exchanging of snowflakes and dust particles dancing through the air was a poignant reminder of a snowcapped mountain ready to explode; shedding its preconceived form to reveal its true nature of a cataclysmic volcano. Still coughing, Aiko felt an arm draped over her in a protective manner. Glancing above her, she saw Chin's face contorted from pain. Clenching his teeth, he noticed the young girl's eyes on him, to which he attempted to give a reassuring smile back as he continued to hunch over her like he did instinctively when the ceiling first showed signs of giving way.

A subtle stream of red dripped from his brow to the rocky surface next to her, making a plopping sound like that of drops of water escaping through a tightly closed faucet. "H-hey there, kid…" Chin weakly smiled as he felt her hand's subtle trembling against his own, to which he used to prop his form in an umbrella-like fashion over Aiko. "I don't remember this being in today's forecast…" coughing instead of smiling, Chin refused to give way until he was sure that the ceiling above them was stable enough for them to move again.

"Y-you big…dummy…" was all she could whisper out. Cursing softly at herself for trembling from the sudden shockwave of falling rocks, she timidly tried to push the bushy haired shinigami off of her, but to her dismay, realized that he wouldn't budge from her unspoken request. "You…you _need_ help…" she tried to whisper sternly to the man hunched over her, trying to imitate the forceful voice that her mom would use against her dad to do chores. Despite the agitation and fear from him ignoring her a second time, a softness settled on her despite the tenuous safety of the situation.

"Shhh…" he sternly replied, to which Aiko surprisingly responded to immediately. Something in Chin's eyes was urgent, as he placed his index finger against his lips. Cautiously trying to control her heavy breathing, all she could hear was the sound of crumbling pebbles from above crashing to the floor below. She felt Chin move above her as silently as possible, groaning softly as he reached out to something slightly out reach. She could not see anything around her, because the dust skewed her view.

…A single crunch of pebbles nearby.

Someone or some_thing_was close to them. Anxiously, Aiko yearned to scream out for her parents and anyone else, not knowing where they were at all. But Chin, despite the gruesome looking injury that he had taken, observed the area with a serious watch. He asked her to be silent, and that was what she planned to do until something changed.

…a second crunch now, from the same vicinity.

Those were definitely footsteps now. Coursing through her mind, Aiko blinked only once more as she tried to observe the area opposite of whichever Chin looked toward. There were more footsteps approaching them, along with snarls.

'_Snarls…?'_ Aiko inhaled shaply at the thought. '_I didn't sense any Hollows…'_

"_Aiko…_" she heard the man above her whisper, "_…on my signal, run as fast as you can straight ahead, ok? That's where I sensed where your parents are…_" She only nodded in reply, which was more than enough to issue a grin on his face. Pushing off with his right arm, Chin spun upwards to his feet, displaying two swords in each of his hands. "ERODE, TAMOTSU!!" He waved the blade in a circular motion from his right hand. Tossing the sword from his left hand, Aiko pushed upwards as well, deftly catching Yukiko and ran straight like he said. The clouds of sand shrank and grew dense, eliciting pained screams all around her as she continued to run.

A single break in the wall of sand opened in front of her, as a handful of Hollow dispersed into particles from the sand's onslaught crushing them. A cluster of rockets spewed past her and exploded into the air, destroying the attacking Hollow as they fell down from the sky. Aiming her weapon against the attacking monsters, Ururu continued to fire projectiles until Aiko managed to rush straight behind her. "Where's my mom and dad!?" Aiko screamed out, panting and confused.

Although the purple haired woman did not reply as she continued her defense, Aiko gasped in realization. Her parents had gone, and she had just left Chin to fight the amassing group of Hollow alone.

--

"Aiko!" Ichigo screamed out in distress as the ceiling caved in above them. He rushed to where his daughter and Chin were, only to be forced to dodge a massive boulder that crashed against the floor that would have crushed him, had it not been for a swift shunpo to his left. "Damn you…" in a flash of orange, he repelled the sword that flew toward him.

"Ichigo!" jumping backward to avoid the projectile rock, Rukia unsheathed her zanpakuto, ready to attack at a moment's notice. To her dismay, she heard a soft pair of footsteps approach her calmly, and a third hollowed sound, belonging to something like a pole, or a cane. Turning around, she focused her glance as the elder mustached man approached her, his face serious all the while.

Smirking a merciless grin, the blue skinned behemoth of a monster snarled at the smaller orange haired shinigami in front of him. Tilting his head to the left and right, the looming creature cracked several small bones in its neck in succession, followed by cracking its knuckles as well in preparation. "Now, time to pick up where we left off…" without warning, a second swipe brashly flew by, sending debris skipping outwards from the gash in the ground that shattered from his attack. "What's wrong, shinigami!?"

'_It's that same one…_' Ichigo scoffed as he shunpoed and attacked from behind his opponent, '_…the one that attacked our store before…'_watching as the blue skinned beast defended, then counterattacked, Ichigo slashed upwards to deflect the behemoth's downward strike. "You're…with Kazuhiro, aren't you…?" he growled angrily, pushing back to create space between them. "Tell me where he is!!"

"You're Kazuhiro…right…?" she asked the man still approaching her. Furrowing her brows, she exhaled deeply as a feeling of unease settled on her. Rukia watched, but couldn't believe the image of the man heading in her direction. He looked exactly as she remembered him the last time he attacked, but something wasn't right. Suddenly, she smirked. Outstretching her arm, Rukia kept the guard and blade parallel with that of the ground. "Dance, _Sode no Shirayuki…_" slowly turning her arm downward, a pure white sleeve grew out from the sword's hilt, outlining a circular shape as she completely turned the blade upward again. "First dance; white moon…" her voice echoed as she called out her attack, causing a circular light to brighten around her. Increasing in brightness, a pillar of ice shot out from the ground straight into the air.

Seeing the attack, the old man jumped away to evade, but was barely caught by the upward motion of the ice pillar. "Oh…it looks like you saw through my illusion, little shinigami…" the now insectoid-Hollow hissed. Clutching onto the frozen left side, it tilted its head in a questioning manner. "How did you know…?"

"It was your shadow…it loomed more than it should have for a man his size in this light…" Rukia responded, now aiming the tip of the blade directly toward the Hollow. The very air around her began to grow cold now, as Rukia glared down at the injured Hollow. "Next dance; white ripple…"

"You want to know where Ainiki is, eh?" arching an eyebrow, the blue skinned giant smirked even more. He suddenly frowned though, when an icy cold breeze blew behind him, shortly followed by a pained scream that was quickly cut short. Scowling and clenching his teeth, Mikio roared as he turned his attention to the shinigami behind him.

"Oi…don't forget that _I'm _your opponent, remember?" Ichigo growled, pointing his sword tip to the back of Mikio's neck. "Now, where the hell is Kazuhiro?"

--

The porch was a nice addition to the house since he last saw it; perhaps it was just over a year since then. Before he could move close enough to press the doorbell however, a firm hand gripped at his shoulder. Craning his head to see who had grabbed him, Kazuhiro couldn't help but to scoff. The two men standing behind him were quite an unexpected appearance. The one on the left, though grinning, had much as a killing intent as the bespectacled man next to him. "Yo…why didn't you tell me you were in town?"


	20. End Game pt 2

Within the darkened hallways, a pair of feet pattered on the wooden floor of the residence hidden behind a candy shop.

"Where are we going, Mr. Urahara?" confused by the man's sudden urgency, quite out of character for the shopkeeper, Emiko was quite perturbed. She was more or less tugged along with the blond man's hand gripping her wrist to follow him around in the shop. "Why are we up here?" she asked again before being tossed toward the waiting man known as Tessai. Trying to stand up, Emiko fell to the floor again as a large explosion outside rang out. She yelped during her stumble, but was able to right herself when the large bespectacled man caught her. "Mr. Urahara!?" she yelled more forcefully, "What's going on?"

Ignoring her plea, the blond man simply removed his trademark green and white striped bucket hat, and placed it onto her head. His face was somber, before switching to a half-sincere smile. "Tessai…take care of her for a bit." He winked to his larger assistant before turning to leave.

"Mr. Ura-" a large hand was placed in front of her face, leading up to the bespectacled and mustached man with a serious look on his face.

"Mr. Urahara…is going to help your parents…don't worry." He finally informed her. Straightening up, the large man moved out of view behind a door before appearing again, a tray full of cookies in hand while wearing his own trademark green apron. Gently placing the tray onto the table nearby, he ushered her to sit in a chair, before setting out a plate and glass for her. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" he tried to reassure the teenager with his own calm composure.

Appreciating the gesture, Emiko smiled and nodded silently, allowing the large man to go through the doors, which obviously led to the kitchen. '_Guys…_' she thought about her friends, and those close to her. '_…Mom…_Dad_…I'm sorry I'm not of any use at all…' _she sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye just as Tessai returned with a carton of milk. _'At the very least, I'll make sure…I'm not in your way…_'

--

**End Game **(Part 2)

--

One slash was all it took to defeat each of these Hollow. One slash; it screamed, then he would move on to kill the next Hollow.

Why then, were there still so many of these Hollow attacking them!?

Renji panted, desperately making his way through the horde as wave after wave continued to flow in. Angrily, he growled out, releasing his shikai to carve into the crowd surrounding him. "Get…out…of…my…WAY!!" Bursting through the horde as dozens of Hollow disintegrated he spotted who he had been looking for since the ceiling collapsed. Jumping into the air, Renji crossed the distance of twenty feet to slash down on the Hollow attacking the raven haired woman.

"Tatsuki, are you o-" interrupted by a punch in the face, he whined and clasped his bleeding nose with his free hand.

"Oh, sorry…didn't realize you were there…" the woman responded casually, and blocked a slash aimed for her before countering with a heavy kick. Not seeing another Hollow appear behind her, she was taken by surprise to hear the screech and turned around. The segmented blade was just retracting back when she turned toward Renji, breathing heavily as he approached her.

"…After getting out of this, we're going to talk…" Wiping a small speckle of red that escaped from his nose with his sleeve, Renji kept his face serious considering their situation. "You know that bastard, Urahara, is actually turning a profit in this town? He even offered me a paying job…" Confused, Tatsuki and Renji both paused to strike or slash respective Hollow that tried to attack them. "…you'll see, Tatsuki…" Renji continued, "…in three month's time, I'll make good on that promise I made to you then…"

"…_I want to be with you…"_

"R-renji…?" she gulped at his proposal, not needing the distraction while they continued to fight for their lives. "Now…isn't the time to be talking about this…" Though a bit hesitant at first, the Vale Tudo fighter defended herself against three consecutive Hollows, while Renji moved in to kill them all using Zabimaru. Using the inertia of his earlier movement, Renji quickly jumped and held out the flat side of his zanpakuto to block against a sudden projectile attack aimed for Tatsuki.

"Hou…" a soft set of claps sang amongst the Hollow. In fact, the giant horde had suddenly stopped attacking, though poised to; they stood back as one within the crowd approached Renji and Tatsuki. "Quite impressive, shinigami…" Standing before them, a lone Hollow smirked and casually bowed. He was a lanky looking man, with broken remnants of a mask that were two beak-like protrusions that stuck out of the sides of his head looking like ears, and most of the left side of his face including his eye. "I am Prillinscepe Gatsuche. Lord Mikio has sent me to kill you…"

"Eh… 'Lord Mikio'?" Renji asked in a cynical tone, "Never heard of the guy…" Just barely turning his head for Tatsuki to hear, he whispered '_get as far away as possible…'_

"I see…" standing up from his bow, the Hollow unceremoniously unsheathed his sword. "Well then, let me give you the honor of-" Interfering with his speech, Renji extended Zabimaru to slash at the Hollow's shoulder, which was easily dodged. At the very moment, Tatsuki began running the other way, punching and kicking out through the Hollow that surrounded them. Irritated by the act, Prillinscepe growled and bared his teeth along with an angered scowl.

"You talk too much…" Renji started with a boastful tone. Smirking that Tatsuki had managed to fight her way out of the immediate area, he happily displayed his zanpakuto for the Hollow to see. "BANKAI!" Through the explosion of smoke, a monstrous red haired snake-skeleton lunged after the Hollow. Without hesitation, Prillinscepe immediately impaled his chest with his own sword, just before Hihio Zabimaru crashed into him.

"Orar, Quetzcequetol!"

Renji motioned to retract his zanpakuto with a whip-like crack from its handle, but felt enormous resistance instead. "…shit…" he growled softly as he realized what had happened. The dust from crushed rock was now beginning to clear, revealing the transformed Hollow, its bird-like features completely overtaking its entire form…single handedly keeping a hold on Zabimaru's skull.

--

"I wanted to make it a surprise…" Slapping away the gripping arm off of his, the older man couldn't help but smile. The wrinkles of his face creased with the added muscle use, making it look as if he had found his long lost friends to anyone watching from far away. "Besides, I could never impose on your family, anyway…" Despite Kazuhiro's continued grin, the bespectacled man stared at him with a continued fury of hate. A look of disbelief overtook the old man's face as he stared back with reminiscent eyes. "…is that you, Soken…?"

"That's his kid, actually…" the third man added with a slight chuckle, "though he's like the spitting image of his youth, right? Speaking of which…" turning his glance back toward Kazuhiro, the bearded man eyed the older gentleman down as if he were inspecting for flaws like a military officer would during uniform inspection. "What's with the getup, Kazuhiro?"

"Hmmm?" looking back in a moment of confusion, Kazuhiro's eyes lit up as he knew what the man meant by the remark. "Yes, well…it's just something I've been working on." He pinched one wrinkled hand, mesmerized by the realistic reaction it had as the skin slowly reformed itself. "I want to show Captain Urahara what it can do…I've really made it for his _benefit_, really…"

"Well take it off, will ya? It's really starting to freak me out…" the other man said bluntly, "…I feel awkward to talk to an older man in such a familiar manner…"

Kazuhiro only smiled back, motioning one hand into his jacket pocket to retrieve a single glove. Wordlessly slipping it on, he pushed his gloved hand against his chest, leaving the old body lifeless to crumple to the ground. Before them stood a much younger looking man, free of wrinkles and pale-golden hair atop his head. His youthful amber eyes no longer looked out of place with this new face as Kazuhiro bent down to retrieve the cane from the now dead old man. With a whoosh, a sudden gust of wind that emanated from what seemed to be the blond man himself ruffled through the hair and clothing of all three men standing in the front yard. "Captain Kurosaki…" the younger Kazuhiro mused as he stood up to look the bearded man in the eye. "…you never cease to amuse me…"

--

'…_the hell was that…?'_ Renji continued his tug-of-war against the arrancar tens of yards ahead of him. The feeling crept down his spine like a chill, as a reiatsu signature he hadn't felt before suddenly exploded into existence. The distraction worked against him, as Prillinscepe easily pulled the shinigami off of his feet to fly forward into the ground.

"If I had to guess, I would say that-" A sudden rush of force interrupted the Hollow, as the snake-skull screeched and twisted out of Prillinscepe's grasp with a thunderous twitch, sending the arrancar to crash against a rocky wall.

"Didn't I tell you, already?" Renji boasted with a wide smile, whipping his zanpakuto's handle to retract the massive body to coil around him once again, "You…TALK too much!!" he attacked again, sending the roaring screeching skull to pummel against Prillinsepe's own rush. As Hihio Zabimaru charged to crush its enemy with its massive jaws, Prillinscepe quickly changed his footing, moving to the side to slam the huge beast away like a blitzing football player. Rather than panic, Renji smiled at this action, quickly whipping the handle toward his left. Expecting as easy attack, the beastly looking Prillinscepe looked over his shoulder as the monstrously sized zanpakuto opened its mouth wide and felt the surge of reiatsu. "BABOON BONE CANON!!" With a gasp, red was all that Prillinscepe last saw.


	21. Finale

Her movement seemed to attract the beastly Hollow after her, and her attempts to fight back seemed only to attract even more of them.

Leapfrogging over a lanky masked Hollow immediately in front of her, she balanced on the skull, using it as like a gymnast would a vaulting horse to twist around and kick away advancing Hollow before flipping over and tossing the one in her grasp over her shoulder into a group of them like a bowling ball hitting pins. "I _better_ not be getting too old for this!" she exclaimed in sheer disappointment, noticing that the results of her punches and kicks weren't up to par to a few years ago.

She kick blindly behind, managing to strike away one monster with a screech, before twisting her hip to follow through and knock down three more through the inertia and momentum of the attack. Despite all of her efforts though, it seemed that she was only successful in knocking them down, not destroying them.

Somehow figuring this out as well, the same lanky Hollow that she had used to leapfrog was in front of a small group of five, ready to pounce on her when they had gotten close enough.

"Sing, Benihime!" A wave of red energy carved through the throngs of Hollow in front of her, in fact, formed a wall enclosing her before moving outward to envelop how ever many Hollow were left alive. Dropping to his feet right next to her, a blur of green and yellow weaved to and fro through the remain Hollow, numbers devastated as only a handful were left to be picked off by simple swipes of a sword.

Dropping to the ground from sheer exhaustion built up from a mix of running and fighting, Tatsuki had the first chance to rest since the whole ordeal began with what seemed hours ago, was mearly half of a single one. "You…you didn't have to do that, Urahara…" Tatsuki huffed; pushing away the man's outstretched hand.

"I'm just trying to help, you know…" with a pout, the blond haired man rubbed his sore wrist as the woman in front of him stood back up under her own power. "…" Despite that, Urahara grinned in a mischievous manner as Tatsuki brushed the dust off of her clothes and hair.

"…" it didn't take long for her to notice his staring. "…can I _help _you?" Tatsuki asked in a less-than-amused voice, not appreciating the attention the blond man was giving her at all.

"I was just admiring a young woman's beauty, that' all" Giving an ambiguous smile Urahara only received a look of disinterest from Tatsuki in return.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, then…" the woman began, combing her hand through her hair as she looked arbitrarily away in thought. Her eyes flickered back toward Urahara, filled with a sort of realization as if she had made a very important decision. "…It just happens that…I'm spoken for…"

"Oh…" To this, Urahra couldn't help but give off a smile—a sincere one this time—as he glanced in the same general direction as she did. Leaning some of his weight onto Benihime in front of him, he took a deep breath in before exhaling with the sound of relief, like he had been holding this one breath for quite a while. "…well…I'll make sure he works hard for _every_ penny…" he commented ambiguously yet again, sure that they were on the same wavelength about the assumed topic at hand.

"I wouldn't want it any other way…" she gave her first real smile in so long, like the weight of trying to achieve a championship belt had just been lifted because of a victory.

"…We_ are _talking about Renji, right?" the blond man asked in a half serious tone, eliciting a surprised laugh from Tatsuki. "…"

"…yeah…" her voice was soothed and confident, "…we are…"

--

**End Game **(Part 3)

--

"Chin!!!" screaming in a panic, Aiko struck anxiously into every Hollow that attacked her, too preoccupied with looking for her friend to take particular care of herself. Receiving minor scratches and bruises with every encounter, the raven haired teen rushed back through the hordes, vainly trying to reach Chin again.

A flurry of rockets sparked dozens of explosions through the crowd, serving only to give pinpricks to a hugely dominating force of numbers. "Aiko!!" Ururu called back, trying to reach the teen before anything happened to the distraught girl. She had managed to hold back her programming, her Berserker Mode for this long, but it was only a matter of time before it had overridden her prerogative to protect Aiko, an order she voluntarily took from not just her parents, but Chin, himself. "Aiko! Come back!" her voice was easily drowned out by the screeches and hunger pained growls of the masked Hollow all around them, as the purple haired woman slowly began to feel her consciousness slip away bit by bit.

'_Come on, Yukiko! Don't you have any other attack? Another ability?'_Aiko swung her released zanpakuto with increasing desperation, pleading for there to be some stronger trait that could change the situation. "Why can't I have bankai!? Like my mom…or dad!?" her tears flowed as her grip tightened, now finding herself being swarmed by the sheer numbers of Hollow around her. Aiko's progress forward had simply halted, and now the teen fought to survive, to keep going until every last Hollow around her had crackled and shattered into pieces of ice. "Let…me…THROUGH!!!!"

With a single swing, a wave of Hollow had turned to ice, in fact, the wind all around her had taken a life of its own and flew through the hordes like a divine wind that answered Aiko's pleas. The goddess who had answered the plea weaved effortlessly through the Hollow, her robes of white signaling an immediate death upon the corrupted souls that dared to gaze upon her two blades. A blade of pure majestic white; a sword of an ephemeral ice; both carved through their victims with impunity, shattering or disintegrating Hollow after Hollow until almost none were left to stand up to the apocalyptic assault. Only a spiraling tower of sand stood between the three women and the shinigami Vice-Captain whom they set off to save, which offered no support to whether Chin was still ok or not.

"…Mom…" Aiko gulped as she looked on with a terrified awe, to which the older woman sighed and watched the spiral as well.

"I know, sweetie…you just have to believe in him…" placing a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder, Rukia urged the younger girl to believe…that was all any of them could do at this point.

--

Sitting within the near empty waiting room of the Karakura Hospital owned by his family, Uryuu sat restlessly with his wife as they waited out the fight they knew would happen. Though they hadn't shown any signs of concern, the young children Kai and Hisana Kurosaki busied themselves with playing with the youngest Ishida seated safely in his stroller.

'_If anything happens, you're our last line of defense Uryuu…' _the bespectacled man remembered Ichigo's request before they secluded themselves in Urahara's newest training area.

Pushing his glasses up his nose bridge with a single finger, Uryuu sighed as the anxiety slowly grew in him about the condition of everyone.

"Excuse me, Doctor Ishida?" the small orange haired Kai had walked up to Uryuu without him noticing at all. His mind was so deep in thought, that it took a slight nudge from his wife before he reciprocated attention toward the boy.

"Oh, sorry…" Uryuu apologized, leaning toward Kai to hear his question. "Do you need to go to the restroom, or something?"

"Uh, no…nothing like that…" Kai shook his head to the man's guess, as he scratched the back of his neck, wondering how he should word out his question. "Uh…w-what kind of things does…Setsuko…like…?"

"…?" Surprised by the question concerning his daughter, his memory sparked that her birthday was coming up in a few weeks. "…" Now wondering himself what he should get her for her thirteenth birthday. Another tap from his wife garnered his attention as he adjusted his glasses again.

Checking the condition of a bottleful of milk with one hand, the light-auburn haired woman placed a finger on her lips in thought. "Speaking of which, Uryuu…where _is _she…?"

"…" His mind went blank for a second, as he laughed off his wife's question. "Don't worry about that, Orihime…she's just…" he turned his head to face the opposite end of the waiting room, where empty seats greeted him. "Uh…she must be in the restroom then, I nearly forgot!"

"For half an hour, now?"

"…" Blanking out again, it took a second before those words registered in his fatigue addled mind. "…SETSUKO!?"

--

"Lord Mikio will be pleased with the extermination of a traitor…" the adjuchas Hollow mused with a menacing chuckle, as it continued to circle its prey about in search for a possible weak point in the sand spiral's defense.

"It's pretty odd to hear you say that about me…" his uniform had been cut, displaying the slices, nicks and gaping wounds he had thus far received. His left arm was bare, the sleeve torn to shreds as the hand shivered from the continuing blood loss. One Hollow had taken a lucky strike and crippled his arm, leaving him only one arm and fatigue to take on this adjuchas. "…I didn't have much say in the group to be considered a 'member', if you know what I mean…"

"Nothing you say will change my directions to kill you, Shinigami…" the frog-like appearance of its face stretched from ear to ear in a jagged toothed smile, as it raised its clawed hands ready to pounce. "It's not like you have a chance in hell!" it charged toward Chin, shooting down its monstrous claw like a spear toward the shinigami's neck. With a simple flick of his wrist, however, the two of them were now caught in a arm-wrestling match—where the one who lost would surely receive a killing blow. "…" the Hollow cackled violently as it smiled even more when it noticed something about this struggle. "You know the only difference at this point…?" as it said this, the Hollow had raised his other arm to cut down on Chin's sword-wrist "…I can still use _both_ of my arms!!"

With a soft smile on his face, he watched as the hollow moved to deliver a crippling blow to his other arm. Despite the danger, he loosened his push against the Hollow, allowing it to slightly overpower him and push him back. "Bankai…"

--

"You're not so tough anymore, are you?" The blue behemoth taunted. He tightly held the collar of the bleeding Orange haired man, lifting him off the ground. "You should've just joined us…" cocking a massive arm back, he slammed hard into Ichigo, sending him soaring into a rocky wall forming an impressively sized impact crater. Miko laughed loudly at this sudden change in events, not finding it boring at all that his opponent wasn't even fighting back.

'…_Rukia…_' Ichigo groaned as he slowly stood up, watching the arrancar with caution. '…_what the hell is taking you so long…?'_ Just moments ago, he had to watch his wife crash through the ceiling and fall to the ground, in order to give her a chance to check up on everyone else's situation. '…_those inflatable gigais had better been worth it, Urahara…'_ he growled within his own thoughts, '_…I bet you made a fortune just off of me…_'

"You must be so disheartened…" Mikio teased again with a cruel snarl, "…losing a loved one like that…" He punched his fist into his other hand, readying to pummel into the surely injured Ichigo some more. "Don't worry, shinigami…I'll send you to her soon…"

"Ichigo!!" a woman's voice called out from behind him. "Ichigo!!" Looking back to the voice calling his name, Ichigo smirked at the condition of his wife waving from above the hill of debris. Then, a second and third head of raven hair popped up, though the middle person's identity was much more relieving.

"Dad!!" the young voice called out as well, and though injured and clutching onto her right arm, it seemed that Aiko was more than alright.

"…the…hell…?" oblivious to their entire plan, Mikio turned back to see the three women watching the fight. "…" he growled loudly, clasping the handle of his still sheathed zanpakuto.

"_**Now then…**_" a deep and guttural voice addressed the arrancar, and the desire to kill pulled his attention back to where his opponent had been. As he turned around, Mikio was greeted by the demonic eyes and mask of a vizard, and felt the cold black blade cutting through the hierro of his stomach. With a look of sadistic satisfaction, Ichigo cleaved the Arrancar in half, and disappeared from sight through sheer speed. Reappearing right behind the falling two halves, he raised his arm above his head, before slashing downwards with as much intensity as possible. "_**GETSUGA TENSHO**_!!!"

--

_What's going on? Why…why is everything…_

"You're wondering what's happening?" the bushy haired shinigami stepped into the Hollow's view, somehow uninjured and moving about freely. "I don't feel like explaining right now…I got some _serious_wounds to tend to."

_You bastard! How dare you make fun of me like this!!_

"…" The spinning, spiraling tower of sand was now focused around Chin's zanpakuto, as if holding a leash to an entire sandstorm. "SAND WAVE!!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…_Chin…_?" the voice, though echoed in his head, was full of concern.

"Hmmm?"

"…_Chin…" _it called his name again with familiarity, concerned but no longer laced with as much fear as before.

"…w-wake me up later…" Looking for the alarm, his hand pressed against something warm and-

"CHIN!!"

A heavy hit on his head sent him back to consciousness, as the filled back into his eyes only to add to the throbbing pain. "Gah!" Chin yelped out, sitting up while clutching his aching head. Looking around, he noticed the group of injured people gathering around, sitting about in a circle or standing and looking up to the blue sky above them. "…?"

Chin's eyes moved over to his left, where he noticed Tatsuki and Urahara lowering an injured Renji to rest against a large rock. "You idiot…" he heard her say with a light tone of voice, as smiles were exchanged between them.

Glancing in front of him, the husband and wife greeted each other with a loving embrace, checking over each other's injuries with concern and happiness.

Turning his gaze to his right, he was surprised to be greeted by an intense blushing as Aiko looked away in the other direction, tightly wrapping her arms around her body in some reactionary way. "…you ok, kid?" he asked her, only bringing about a girlish noise from the teenager. "…?"

"Y-you don't remember, do you?" continuing her job of taking a wet rag to wipe off more dried blood from his face, Ururu asked Chin with a bit of confusion.

Confused himself, Chin shook his head softly as the woman held his head to wipe off his forehead. He saw the still blushing Aiko take a soft glance toward him, but quickly retracted and looked away in a panic when she saw she was caught. "Huh…?" oblivious, she felt the purple haired woman shift her weight to stand up, and watched her move over to help the others.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So...what did you think? 

I hope you enjoyed this long (_so long_) story, and I've enjoyed the feeling of knowing people read what I write. I want to thank all of you who've reviewed, those of you who've placed this story as a favorite or on your update lists!

So many thanks go out to RadiantBeam for letting me swipe her characters and totally ruin them (Like I really think that, ha!). Big thanks go out to Tite Kubo for creating Bleach and such.

Again, thank you! Arigato! Grazie! Salamat! Merci! Danke!

Thanks.

**_...legalities..._**

All characters are based in an post-Aizen AU where Ichigo and Rukia got...it..._**on**_! Which the canon story is created by Tite Kubo

--

-- Omake --

--

Rushing through the wooden floored hallway, a panicked Uryuu looked back and forth through every room without breathe in his lungs. Nearly an hour ago, he ran straight out of the hospital waiting room and drove as recklessly as he could to where he felt Setsuko's reiatsu, and now was in a panic to the consequences to his absent mindedness.

He felt a presence in the room ahead of him, where the hallway ended, and burst through the paper door to-

"-Oh…Ishida-sensei…" a deep voice greeted him, not keeping the large man named Tessai from pouring another perfect cup of tea even as he looked at the breathless doctor in front of him. "Is everything alright?" he asked while wearing a pair of fluffy cat ears and a pink apron; his face was clearly covered in a heavy foundation of blush, eyeliner and lipstick.

Confused, Uryuu looked around, seeing the small lion plushy dressed in a frilly dress tied down to a baby's highchair with its mouth taped shut. Next to them, he noticed the three modsouls within their own plushy bodies, and two girls serving and offering tea and cookies onto the doily covered table. "Hey there, Ishida-sensei! Is something the matter?" Emiko, dressed in a traditional yutaka greeted as she took a small sip of tea.

"Ohaiyo gousaimasu, Ojou-sama…" his eyes turned to the smaller girl, who, though dressed quite similarly to the older teenager, looked much differently because of the white skin tone and heavy red lips to give her a geisha look. She bowed reverently while sitting on the floor, taking the role quite seriously while dressed up. Finally, sitting back up in a regular seiza, she blinked before tilting her head just slightly. "…where's everyone else…?"

"…"


	22. My life as a teenaged Quincy

**\\// (Bonus Story) \\//**

They were supposed to have left nearly an hour ago, but the two of them had some…delays…in leaving the house. First, Tatsuki took too long to prepare, making Renji—who was still sleeping on the couch—wait for nearly the whole time, dressed for the occasion. They had recently bought a house, and though it wasn't as grand as the Ishida's, it was quite a comfortable home for both of their wages. There were still some complications every now and then, but it seemed that Emiko 's presence seemed to cool their heads, and allowed for some semblance of a "family" begin to develop. Now, however, the two of them sat inside the car with Renji behind the wheel.

"It's not like I've ever driven a car before…"

Emiko had left before them, to help setup for the birthday party along with a hesitant Aiko (And she had borrowed one of her mother's party dresses without permission).

"Oh, really? Then what's the problem?" the raven haired woman asked back, reciprocating his tone of voice.

"Well first of all, it'd be nice if you gave me the directions to the house…perhaps_ then _we'd be able to get there…" Renji tried to reason, not able to understand Tatsuki's daft logic in driving over to the Ishida's house from theirs.

"…I can't believe it…we finally have the house to ourselves…" Tatsuki looked back to the red haired man, who sent out an oblivious gaze. She shook her head with a condescending sigh, "If you _really _want to go to the party so badly, then go by yourself…" opening the car door with a click, the clack of her shoes against the garage floor echoed against the walls as she walked back to the door connecting to the house.

"What the heck's that supposed to mean, anyway!?" He screamed, not knowing what set her off. "Why _wouldn't_ we-"

"…" She gave her most seductive gaze toward him, as she opened the door and slipped the key back into her purse. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open slowly, as she smiled with knowing how convincing her acting was. '_Thanks a bunch, Rukia…'_

"…" His eyebrows furrowed, not sure what exactly was going on. As soon as he saw her make the 'come here' gesture with her finger, all he could do was gulp. Renji's arm moved with a mind of its own, turning the ignition key off and pulling it out. "…oh…" he said breathlessly, as he scrambled out of the car.

** My Life as a Teenaged Quincy  
**

Very happy music played. To her ears, she could probably discern a mix of accordion, trumpets, possibly a soft bass, and a generous use of a synthesizer machine. Of course, there was no other way to describe _how _happy it was other than just saying that fact. Indeed, the music was quite…happy…

"…" scowled a young blue haired girl as she pressed her hands against her throbbing head. Despite her mother's best intentions, playing the same song on a continuous loop was _not _a considerate form of birthday music (In her opinion, anyway). It only served to make the young girl want the day to be over already, quite contrary to what most children her age would consider a "normal" reaction.

"Come on, squirt…" mused one raven haired teenager. Dipping her fork for another serving of ice cream cake, she happily wore a knee length skirt and arm-less blouse for the hot and sunny day. Sporting a pair winking "Chappy Bunny" hair pins, it was quite a fetching combination that would look well on either her or her mother. "I don't really think it's _that _bad…" she smirked as the smaller girl glared daggers at her, not intimidated by the stare whatsoever. "Psh, you think _that's _scary? Try talking to my uncle first…" she scoffed off the attempt.

Brooding even more that her efforts would be ineffective against the teenager, the blue haired girl stood up from the bench and sauntered off to another part of the backyard.

"What's up with her…?" Chin appeared with his own plate empty, and just before he managed to wrap an arm around the raven haired girl's shoulders, Emiko popped in between them. Tying her hair up, the other teen was very much dressed for the occasion, though for _what_ kind of party was a bit uncertain.

"Say, Chin, have you tried _this _one yet?" she chirped and unceremoniously shoved a fork-full of food into the surprised gigai wearing shinigami's mouth. "Oh, I need to get a drink." Smiling, she turned to Aiko next to her. "Isn't he _so _cute?" she asked before skipping her way back to the food table.

Though she was quite comfortable with this behavior from her friend, Aiko stared her own pair of daggers with an arched eyebrow without saying a word. She clicked her tongue in irritation toward Chin, and began walking away. "Wh-hack!" he coughed for a moment before he swallowed the food in his mouth. "What?" Chin asked again, unaware for the reason of this sudden silent treatment. "Is there something on my face again…?" quickly, he chased after the raven haired teen, not knowing what he did wrong.

Sighing again, Setsuko began her vain search for a pair of earplugs. Perhaps now she could understand the feeling of looking through a haystack, trying to find a single needle. Before this, she never understood the American saying, wondering why _anyone _would want to do that in the first place. Nevertheless, she weaved through the crowd of well wishers and party goers, most who were staff at the hospital where her father owned and worked. They would say their "Congratulations, Ms. Ishida." With an obviously fake smile, or "I can tell you're going to look _so _much like your mother when you get older just by looking!"

Setsuko _loved _her mother everyway possible, but, come on…who needs that kind of pressure when your mom looks like she quite literally dropped down from heaven and married the poor shmuck whom she landed on as an act of apology?

Not to say that she doesn't love her father as well…Setsuko saw _him _more than she could ever see such a beautiful woman like her mother whenever she looked in the mirror. Then again, many people had the habit of essentially contradicting themselves as a whole, so there was absolutely no way to completely rely on other's opinions on such a matter.

"Oh, _really_!?"

"Yeah! **Really**!!"

Off to the right, in the corner of the backyard towards a far tree, a young blonde girl bickered with at what seemed at first to be herself, but then it quickly began to show that there was a lively plushy yelling back with equal tenacity.

"What's a kid like you dressing up like such a hoochy!?" A female voice screeched out from the lion plush, angering the blonde girl further.

"_HOOCHY!?_ That coming from a possessed _doll_ with Multiple Personality Disorder!? HA!" the girl pointed back with a snarky look on her face, eliciting a growl from the smaller doll.

"I am _not _a doll!" a slightly more 'masculine' voice protested, but was immediately chastised with a smack to the face from one of its own paws.

"Keep out of the conversation, _dimwit_…"

A crowd slowly began to form toward the raucous display, as two men tried in vain to push the curious party goers away from the obviously supernatural fight. "Please, it's just a…_practice _for an upcoming show!" Cloud attempted to dispel the crowd with a nervous laugh. Despite the fact that his mere sense of dress could probably attract a crowd, he continued to make up excuses about Rinrin's manic behavior and her excellent ventriloquist/magic/comedy act.

"…" the red haired Nova however, chose to zip up his hood.

"Uh…here…" A voice from her left garnered her attention, attracting her eyes to drift to what seemed like a large box shoved very close to her face. Setsuko went cross eyed as she glanced at the close proximity of the pink and teal wrapped box, surprising her for a moment as she stepped back to recover her senses. Holding onto the box were a pair of hands, which extended from a very red faced boy. The boy himself avoided looking at her, instead opting to direct his icy blue eyes to the side, possibly to the idling piñata waiting for 'its' time.

"…you could have poked my eye out, you know…" Setsuko told the orange haired boy in front of her, garnering his attention toward her. Kai looked shocked, and stuttered apologies as his red face only managed to redden more. "…" the girl in front of him simply cleared her throat, and pointed silently to the pair of glasses nestled on the bridge of her nose. Noticing his still paled expression, Setsuko shook her head and rolled her eyes, sighing to make a noticeable combination for even the _dullest _person to realize. "…doofus…" she said in a playful manner. Taking the box, Setsuko walked away from the dumbfounded boy standing where he was, approaching the table where the rest of the presents were.

That pink and teal box, amongst the pile of presents that ranged greatly in color and size, was the only one she peeked into before the opening of other presents that day.

…let's just say…Kon would have one less thing to worry about in his life from that day on…

--

In a much more quiet area of the backyard, three sharply dressed men stood about, holding up a red party cup or a small plate of half-eaten cake. "Say, whatever happened to Kazuhiro?" the blond man was the first to speak up toward the other two, taking a slight sip of his juice as he did so.

"What do you mean?" the bespectacled white haired man said in a cold manner, "We already explained it to you, didn't we?" Drinking from his own cup, Ryuuken watched his granddaughter in the distance interact with the Kurosaki grandson.

"It's a sad thing what we had to do to him…but at least he's in a better place, now…" Munching on his cake, Isshin nodded his head about the fight that had taken place no less than just a few weeks ago.

"I guess it was _quite_ the fight, then…" Kisuke commented, glancing up to the blue sky without the rim of his trademark hat blocking the way. "It's too bad I missed it…"

"Definitely!" Isshin chirped with an excited smile, "You should've seen the awesome moves that Ryuuken managed to do at his age!" he nudged the man to his left with a boastful laugh, much to the dislike of the Quincy trying to watch the party in silence.

"…I could care _less_ about that fight…" Ryuuken sighed in contrast to the goat-faced man's thoughts on the manner, "He endangered my family…"

"Sentimental, are we now?" Kisuke sneered upon hearing this, which Isshin also jumped to pester their companion about as well.

"…" Sighing, Ryuuken shook his head and rolled his eyes, hoping that the two men next to him would notice.

"So, how's your son and that _darling _Orihime doing?" Isshin began undiplomatically with a mouth full of cake, "Think they plan to have a _third _grandchild ready for you?"

"…"

It looked like…they didn't…


End file.
